Tata Motors Posts Rs 1,738 Crore Profit In December Quarter, Beats Analysts’ Estimates

Tata Motors on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs 1,738.30 crore for the quarter ended December 31, as against its worst ever quarterly loss of Rs 26,992.54 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. The net profit was better than Street estimates, as sales for the maker of British luxury car brand Jaguar Land Rover rose in China. Analysts had on an average expected Tata Motors to post a profit of Rs 1,019 crore for the October-December period, news agency Reuters reported citing IBES data from Refinitiv. 

The carmaker’s total revenue from operations however declined 6.81 per cent to Rs 71,676.07 crore in the third quarter of current financial year, according to a regulatory filing by the company after market hours.

“The downturn in the automotive industry continued in Q3 as the economy slowed down,” said Guenter Butschek, CEO and managing director, Tata Motors.

“Our focus on retail acceleration and system stock reduction helped us achieve a multi-quarter low inventory level in CV and PV, while simultaneously getting ready for a smooth transition to BSVI,” he added.

Tata Motors said its British luxury car business Jaguar Land Rover continues its turnaround journey “with another strong quarter”.

JLR’s revenue increased to 2.8 per cent year-on-year to 6.4 billion pounds. While total retail sales fell 2.3 per cent, sales in China continued to recover with a rise of 24.3 per cent and sales in North America increased 1.1 per cent.

Last year, Tata Motors had mapped a revival plan for its luxury car unit and JLR decided to cut around 10 per cent of its workforce. That came after its sales took a hit from a trend to move away from diesel cars towards cleaner fuels in China and Britain.

Tata Motors, like the rest of the auto industry in India, faces tighter credit and higher insurance costs, which have bruised demand and caused a pile-up of inventory.

Shares in Tata Motors ended 0.98 per cent lower at Rs 186.20 apiece on the BSE, under-performing the benchmark Sensex index which declined 0.69 per cent amid a broad-based selloff.