Mahindra reports slight drop in Q2 net profit

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd reported a 2.4 percent drop in its second-quarter net profit on Friday after sales fell, but the automaker said it expects an economic recovery to boost demand for the rest of the year. Mahindra, India's top utility vehicle maker, said in a statement its net profit for the three months ending Sept. 30 was 9.24 billion rupees ($140.5 million), down from 9.47 billion rupees a year earlier. Analysts had expected Mahindra to report a 9.01 billion rupees profit, according to Thomson Reuters data. "With investment sentiment picking up and tail winds from falling interest rates likely to bolster urban consumption demand further, we expect growth to step up pace in the second half of the current fiscal year," Mahindra said in the statement. ($1 = 65.7550 rupees) (Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Anand Basu)