GURGAON, India—Price adjustments did little to offset the impact of rising materials prices for Apollo Tyres Ltd., who revealed a hit to its margins in an Oct. 29 report.
The tire manufacturer's second-quarter operating profit fell nearly 11 percent to about $84.8 million, on 18 percent higher sales of $681 million, Apollo reported. First-half operating profits rose 26 percent to $161 million on 35 percent higher sales nearly $1.3 billion.
Apollo said it witnessed "robust demand" for its products across categories and regions during the second half, ending Sept. 30.
"(This) is visible in the healthy revenue growth, both for the second quarter and in the first half of the fiscal," said Apollo Chairman Onkar Kanwar.
According to the company official, some of the recent additions to product offering is helping Apollo further extend its position in the commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle space in India.
"Europe, too, continues to grow, especially in the UHP (ultra-high performance) and UUHP (ultra-ultra-high performance) segment in PV category," he added.
The pressure on margin front continues, however, "due to the rising raw material prices, despite taking multiple price corrections in the last few months."