Escorts Q3 profit declines 21% on low tractor sales

New Delhi: Tractor maker Escorts Ltd today posted 21.66 percent decline in net profit at Rs 35.68 crore for the third quarter ended 31 December 2014, as its sales hit by downturn in the tractor segment.[caption id="attachment_706340" align="alignleft" width="380"] Reuters[/caption]The company had posted a net profit of Rs 45.55 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.Net sales of the company also declined to Rs 1,042.33 crore for the quarter, as against Rs 1,154.44 crore during the same period of previous fiscal, Escorts Ltd said in a filing to the BSE."This was largely on account of a 16.6 percent drop in tractor volumes to 15,881 tractors against 19,047 tractors in the corresponding quarter ended December 2013," it added.Escorts Chairman Rajan Nanda said the first three quarters have been quite tough for the tractor industry."Looking ahead, the tractor demand is expected to remain subdued in the short term, however, the long term drivers are intact," he added.Shares of Escorts closed at Rs 116.70 apiece on the BSE, up 4.20 percent from previous close.PTI