BENGALURU: India’s Mahindra and Mahindra on Friday reported a first-quarter profit that nearly doubled, surpassing estimates, driven by higher sales of its expensive sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

The maker of Scorpio, Thar and XUV ranges of SUVs posted a standalone profit after tax of 27.74 billion rupees ($335.10 million) in the April-June quarter, up from 14.04 billion rupees a year before.

The company’s quarterly profit beat analysts’ expectation of 18.86 billion rupees as per Refinitiv data, sending Mahindra shares up more than 2%. Mahindra’s results were in line with rivals Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors, which also posted profit beats on the back of strong sales of the profit-boosting SUVs.

The firm’s standalone numbers account for the performance of its main auto and farm equipment business, while consolidated figures include other group companies such as IT exporter Tech Mahindra.