New Delhi: Farm equipment and utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra on Monday said it could consider effecting a price hike due to rising input costs.
M&M president for automotive sector Pawan Goenka told
reporters here today that there has been a surge in
commodity prices, specially that of rubber and sheet metals,
which has resulted in pressures on margins.
"At the moment we are absorbing the prices as much as we
can but if they continue to rise, then we might have to pass
it on to the consumers," Goenka said, on the sidelines of a
meeting on Environmental Friendly Vehicles here. But he
declined to comment on the specifics like timing and the
quantum of a probable price hike.
"Yes, we are feeling the pressure and all companies are
feeling it," he said, when asked if the company is under
pressure due to the rising input costs.
Goenka said in the second quarter, the company had posted
margins which have been "one of the best in many years", but
it would be difficult to maintain the same kind of margins
in the third and fourth quarters because of the increase in
the prices of rubber and sheet metals.
The country's largest utility company had reported a
profit after tax at Rs 702.9 crore on a gross revenue of Rs
5,188.9 crore in the second quarter ended September.
Commenting on the company's bio-diesel project, Goenka
said M&M has already tied up with a company called Earth100
and is running a fleet of 10 Scorpios powered by 100
percent bio-diesel.
While explaining the functioning of the company, he
claimed that before purchasing the car company first assesses
whether car meets a high level of quality and then trained
engineer thoroughly inspects the vehicle along with its
documents.
After purchase, every car was refurbished and
undergoes an extensive 118 point quality check by a trained
engineer, he claimed.
PTI
First Published: Monday, November 23, 2009, 20:21