Maruti Suzuki profit tripled

India's leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported Saturday its quarterly net profit more than tripled, fuelled by cheap loans and a reviving domestic economy. Maruti, majority owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, said net profit during the fiscal third quarter soared to 6.88 billion rupees (149 million dollars) from 2.14 billion rupees a year earlier. The figure outstripped market expectations that profit for the three months to December would total about 5.8 billion rupees. The company, which sells about one in two cars in the country, said sales jumped 62.5 percent to 73.34 billion rupees. The car manufacturer attributed the profit increase partly to government stimulus measures aimed at boosting the economy that have put more money into the hands of India's increasingly affluent middle class. "Favourable conditions in the domestic market supported by the government's stimulus package and ease of automobile finance helped achieve good sales," the company said in a statement.