Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs 1,795.6 crore for the March quarter of financial year 2018-19 (FY19), down 4.6 per cent on year-on-year (YoY) basis. It had posted a PAT of Rs 1,882.1 crore in the March quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Total sales in the quarter stood at 458,479 vehicles, a decline of 0.7 per cent.

The company said the quarter under review was marked by adverse foreign exchange rates and commodity prices, higher depreciation and higher sales promotion expenses partially offset by cost reduction efforts.

Maruti also announced a dividend of Rs 80 per share for 2018-19, the same as that of last year.

For the full financial year 2018-19, the company sold a total of 1,753,700 units in the domestic market, a growth of 6.1 per cent. This comprised 1,729,826 units in the passenger vehicle segment, a growth of 5.3 per cent and 23,874 units of LCV, a growth of 138 per cent over previous year. Exports were at 108,749 units, it said in its press release.

Net profit for the year stood at Rs 7,500.6 crore, lower by 2.9 per cent compared to the same period previous year.

"This was a difficult year because of adverse foreign exchange rates and increase in commodity prices. The second SMG plant in Gujarat was commissioned leading to a higher depreciation expense. The overall market was slow and had to be supported by higher sales promotion expenses. This was partially offset by cost reduction efforts," the press release added.