Maruti Suzuki India, the largest passenger cars maker in India, on Tuesday posted a rise of 17.77% in net profit for the third quarter. Analysts on average had predicted net profit of Rs 8.75 billion.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 8.02 billion for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2014 compared with Rs 6.81 billion in the same period last year.

Net sales for the quarter increased 15.44% to Rs 125.75 billion, compared with Rs 108.93 billion for the prior year period.

The company sold a total of 323,911 vehicles in Q3, a growth of 12.4%. Of this, exports were at 28,709 units, a growth of 43.8%. Higher volumes, material cost reduction initiatives and favorable foreign exchange contributed to bottom-line during the quarter.

Shares of the company gained Rs 21, or 0.58%, to trade at Rs 3,629.65. The total volume of shares traded was 110,435 at the BSE (1.51 p.m., Tuesday).