Apollo Tyres today reported 18.58 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit for

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the quarter ended December 31, 2011, at Rs 98.04 crore due to impact of high input costs.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 120.42 crore in the corresponding period last financial year, Apollo Tyres said in a statement.

Consolidated net sales during the third quarter, however, increased by 36.29 per cent to Rs 3,228.24 crore from Rs 2,368.58 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Commenting on the results, Apollo Tyres Chairman Onkar S Kanwar said: "The raw material prices have stabilised to some extent, but they continue to remain on the higher side and put our margins under pressure."

The company's all three geographies of operations have performed well amidst concerns over a slowdown throughout the last two quarters, he added.

The revenue growth was led by Indian operations with 46 per cent increase over the same period last fiscal, followed by South Africa with 28 per cent and Europe with 26 per cent growth respectively.

"I am confident that the next quarter would see us further consolidate our growth and profitability journey," Kanwar said.

During the quarter, the company's spending on raw materials went up by 37.28 per cent to Rs 2,000.17 crore from Rs 1,457.01 crore in the same period previous year, the statement said.

The consolidated total expenditure shot up by 38.07 per cent to Rs 2,986.25 crore compared to Rs 2,162.87 crore in Q3 of FY'11, it added.

Shares of the company were trading 4.49 per cent up at Rs 75.65 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange during late afternoon.