Mumbai: Maruti Suzuki Ltd, the country's largest car maker, today reported a 33.64 per cent dip in net profit for the quarter ended March 2008 at Rs297.7 crore against Rs448.6 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The two figures, however, are not comparable as Maruti Suzuki has made higher provisioning for depreciation under a more stringent depreciation policy adopted from 2007-08, the company said in a statement.

Under the new policy, the company has made an additional provision of Rs212.3 crore for depreciation for the full year 2007-08, it said.    

Under the shorter depreciation cycles for its equipment and tooling assets, full depreciation will now be eight years instead of 13 years previously. The full depreciation for dies will be four years instead of the earlier five years, the statement said.

Net income (net of excise) during the quarter stood at Rs5,069.9 crore, up 9.4 per cent from January-March 2007.

For fiscal 2007-08, the company's total income (net of excise) rose 23.4 per cent from 2006-07 (year-on-year) to a record Rs18,823.8 crore. Net profit during the year stood at Rs1730.8 crore, up 10.8 per cent over 2006-07, despite higher provision for depreciation.

Earnings before depreciation, interest, tax and amortisation (EBDTA) for the year stood at Rs3,130.8 crore, a growth of about 21 per cent over the previous year.

The board of directors has recommended a dividend of 100 per cent for 2007-08 against 90 per cent for the previous fiscal (2006-07).

The growth in total income included higher realisations, largely contributed by the company's popular hatch-back Swift (both diesel and petrol variants) and premium sedan, SX4, the company said.

The company exported 53,024 vehicles during 2007-08, the highest ever in the company's history. Exports grew by 34.9 per cent during the year.

While strengthening its leadership in the A2 segment, Maruti Suzuki said, it also attained leadership in the A3 segment for the year 2007-08. The company sold 49,335 cars in the A3 segment, a whopping growth of 66 per cent over the previous year, the statement added.