BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra reported a decline in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher expenses offset support from strong sales of its sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and tractor demand recovery.

The 'Scorpio' maker's standalone profit after tax fell 5.3% to 26.13 billion rupees ($312 million), from 27.59 billion rupees in the year-earlier period.

($1 = 83.7300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)