India's Landmark Cars Profit Jumps By 37% In First Earnings Since Listing

Indian luxury auto dealer Landmark Cars reported a 37% jump in quarterly profit in its first earnings report since going public, driven by the strong demand for premium cars.

The South Asian country, once a small and low-cost car market, is seeing a sharp expansion in demand for premium models with a growing middle class splurging on everything pricey from branded apparel to luxury cars.

"The Indian car market is witnessing a radical shift towards premium brands. The premium cars growth is outshining the overall growth in the Indian cars industry," Chairman Sanjay Thakker said in a statement.

Consolidated net profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to 259 million rupees ($3.1 million) from 189.3 million rupees a year earlier.

The reseller of Mercedes-Benz, Jeep and Volkswagen cars posted a 4.66% increase in revenue from operations to 8.76 billion rupees.

The company also said that its unit Watermark Cars has entered into an exclusive agreement with Permagard Automotive USA to scale up its car care business.

The auto reseller had filed for a 5.52 billion rupee IPO in January last year, which was three times oversubscribed, though the shares skidded on their debut in December.

Competent Automobiles Company, which sells budget Maruti Suzuki cars, reported a marginal profit rise in the quarter.

Ahead of the quarterly earnings, Landmark Cars shares closed 0.10% lower at 646 rupees. The shares are up 39% thus far this year.

($1 = 82.6850 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)

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