India's largest car maker Maruti Udyog Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs 124 crore (Rs 1.24 billion) in the second quarter of this fiscal on the back of 18 per cent sales growth.

MUL, which is 54.2 per cent owned by Suzuki Motor Corp of Japan, did not give any figure for net profit in the year ago period.

Maruti's total income (net of excise) went up to Rs 2,276.66 crore (Rs 22.77 billion) during July-September 2003.

The company paid out Rs 29.4 crore (Rs 294 million) towards its second voluntary retirement scheme for its employees, which ended on October 18, a company statement said.

For the first six months ended September 30, 2003, net profit soared by 467 per cent to Rs 244.2 crore (Rs 2.44 billion).

Total income (net of excise) jumped by 33 per cent to Rs 4,386.49 crore (Rs 43.86 billion) during the six months.

MUL's strong financial performance was powered by a 31 per cent growth in vehicle sales to 212,512 units during April-September 2003.