MUMBAI: India’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported a 5.4 percent fall in quarterly profit, its fifth straight such dip, after it was hit by production losses due to deadly labor unrest.

Maruti said net profit fell to 2.27 billion rupees ($ 42 milllion) in the three months to September, down from 2.4 billion rupees a year earlier and lower than market forecasts.

Analysts had expected Maruti, 54.2 percent owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor, to post a net profit of 2.5 billion rupees.

Maruti is trying to recover from its worst-ever labor unrest in July. The firm’s fortunes have also been hit due to growing demand for cars fueled by diesel, which is about 35 percent cheaper than petrol, analysts said.

The company recently unveiled a fresh design for its top-selling Alto car to fight stiff competition from South Korea’s Hyundai and others like Ford, GM and Volkswagen in a still-growing market.

But sales of new cars in India are starting to slow as potential buyers hold back due to high inflation and fuel prices and costlier auto loans.