Maruti Suzuki, India's top automobile manufacturer, posted a larger-than-expected 60 percent fall in its quarterly profit. The company has been hit by labour unrest, rising interest rates and vehicle costs that has hurt demand in Asia's third-largest economy.

Maruti, a company in which Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp owns 54.2 percent, said last week it had resolved labour unrest issues at its plant in north India; a problem that crippled production and sent sales tumbling.

On Saturday, the company said that net profit in its fiscal second quarter that finished on Sept. 30, dropped to Rs. 2.40 billion ($49 million) from Rs. 5.98 billion reported in the same period a year ago.

Shares in Maruti, which has a market value of $6.6 billion, have fallen nearly 21 percent this year, in line with a similar fall in rival Tata Motors' shares but more than a 13 percent drop in the Mumbai market.

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