M&M Q3 net up 75%, above f'cast

The profit included a one-time income of Rs 484 million from transfer of a light commercial vehicle unit.

India's biggest tractor and utility vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, posted a 75 per cent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by strong sales of tractors, lower raw material costs and a one-time income.

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Mahindra, which has about 30 per cent of India's tractor market, the world's biggest by volume, said net profit rose to Rs 2.33 billion($53 million) in its third quarter to end-December from Rs 1.33 billion reported a year earlier.

The profit included a one-time income of Rs 484 million from transfer of a light commercial vehicle unit, the company said.

A median forecast from 11 brokerages polled by Reuters was for net profit of Rs 1.72 billion.

Mahindra, which also has a 45 per cent share of the Indian utility vehicles market, sold 63,196 vehicles and tractors in October-December, up 14 per cent from a year ago.

Mahindra has an $80-million joint venture with Navistar Inc's International Truck and Engine Corp. to make 50,000 medium and heavy commercial vehicles a year from 2007. It will also make Logan cars with Renault from 2007.

Mahindra's shares rose 35 percent in October-December, beating an 18 per cent gain for the sector index and a 9 per cent rise on the benchmark index.