Mladá Boleslav - The largest Czech carmaker, Škoda Auto, on Thursday announced its net profit for the first nine months of 2008 dropped by 24.7 percent year-on-year to CZK 8.66 billion.

The company sold 14.8 percent more cars than a year earlier, but its total revenue dropped by 2.2 percent to CZK 158.1 billion. Spokesman Jaroslav Černý said the strong crown was the main reason behind the lower figures.

The best-selling model was supermini Fabia, followed by small family car Octavia. The executive model Superb, the second generation of which was launched earlier this year, has also seen a moderate growth.

The earnings of the Mladá Boleslav-based company are expected to further decline, as the carmaker last week announced the global financial crisis was forcing it to down with the prices for some models.

"Škoda Auto has decided to reduce prices in reaction to increasing competition and a deepening economic crisis," said company spokeswoman Jana Skočdopolová.

The basic version of the Fabia with the economical 1.2 HTP/44 kW engine will cost CZK 229,900 instead of the current CZK 249,900. The price for the basic version of the Roomster will go down from CZK 339,900 to CZK 299,900. The discounts for some luxury versions of the Superb will amount to CZK 100,000.