bangalore bosch ltd the flagship company of the bosch group in india reported a 3879 decline in net profit for the fourth quarter ended december 31 thanks to the sharp slowdown in the automotive sector and increase in costs the automotive component manufacturer posted a profit of rs 172 crore in the october to december period as against rs 281 crore in the same period a year ago total income stood at rs 2056 crore up 56 over rs 1946 crore in the year ago period for 2012 the company reported revenues of rs 8659 crore a growth of 6 and profit of rs 958 crore a decline of 146 over the previous calendar steffen berns md bosch ltd said unfavourable exchange rate and inflation leading to higher material cost higher depreciation towards capital expenditure and increased personnel cost added to the decline in net profit berns said that the companys personnel costs increased by 1 to 122 of the total sales during 2012 he added that the weak automotive market in india and globally caused by the economic slowdown had impacted the companys business last year in india while the overall automotive market registered a marginal 2 growth in 2012 segments such as medium and heavy commercial vehicles registered a 12 decline trucks a 66 decline and three wheelers a 52 decline the companys exports declined by 91 at rs 940 crore during the year we are approaching 2013 with cautious optimism we are convinced of the strong long term growth of the indian market and therefore continue our investments into new technologies and capacity expansion said berns