Maruti Suzuki India Q4 net down 3 pc

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Saturday said its net profit declined by 3.04 per cent to Rs 639.8 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31st March, 2012, over the same period of previous fiscal.   The company had posted a net profit of Rs 659.9 crore in the same period of previous fiscal, MSI said in a statement. The company's net sales, however, rose to Rs 11,486.4 crore for the fourth quarter of 2011-12, as compared to Rs 9,796.7 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal. For the year ended March 31, 2012, the company posted a net profit of Rs 1,635.1 crore, down 28.55 per cent, as against Rs 2,288.7 crore in the previous financial year. The company's net sales stood at Rs 34,705.9 crore for the year, as against Rs 35,849 crore in the 2010-11 fiscal. The company's board, which met today, recommended a dividend of 150 per cent (Rs 7 per share of face value Rs 5 each) for 2011-12. The dividend in 2010-11 was also at same level. During the fourth quarter, the company sold a total of 3,60,334 units as compared to 3,43,340 units in the same period of 2010-11, reflecting a growth of 4.9 per cent