New Delhi: Tata Motors Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,783 crore for the September quarter, riding on robust performance by its British arm Jaguar Land Rover.
This is the fourth successive quarter of positive results for the auto major.
The Mumbai-based company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,004 crore in the July-September period last fiscal.
Total consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,05,128 crore, as compared with Rs 79,611 crore in the year-ago period, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing.
On a standalone basis, the company reported a net profit of Rs 1,270 crore for the September quarter, it added.
It had reported a net loss of Rs 293 crore during the same period last fiscal.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a revenue of 6.9 billion pounds in the second quarter, up 30 per cent year-on-year, driven by higher wholesales, better mix, cost reductions and investment in demand generation.
Looking ahead, production and wholesale volumes are expected to gradually increase in the second half of the current fiscal, it stated.
The EBIT margin for FY24 is expected to improve to about 8 per cent as compared to 6 per cent-plus previously indicated, it added.
The British brand continues to expect free cash flow of over 2 billion pounds in FY24 with net debt reducing to less than 1 billion pounds by the end of FY24, it added.
“It is pleasing to see all the businesses deliver on their well-differentiated plans this quarter. With a strong product pipeline, a seasonally stronger H2 and continued focus on cash accretive growth, we are confident of sustaining this momentum,” Tata Motors Group Chief Financial Officer PB Balaji said.
The automaker said it remained optimistic on demand despite external challenges and anticipate a moderate inflationary environment.
“We aim to deliver a stronger performance in H2 (April-September period), due to a healthy order book at JLR, strong demand for heavy trucks in the commercial vehicle space and new generation products in the passenger vehicle segment,” it added.
In the July-September period, domestic wholesale commercial vehicle volumes stood at 99,300 units, up 6 per cent year-on-year, Tata Motors said.
“Going forward, with improvement in consumption, onset of festive season and range bound inflation, we expect these tailwinds to continue while closely monitoring any emerging headwinds in rural demand due to the below average rainfall,” Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh said.
The passenger vehicle volumes stood at 1,39,000 units in the second quarter, down 2.7 per cent year-on-year, the company said.
Despite lower volumes and adverse mix, margin improvement was led by strong savings in commodity costs, it added.
“With deliveries commencing of our new generation products, we expect stepped up volumes and profitable growth in the second half of the year,” Tata Motors MD Passenger Vehicles Shailesh Chandra said.
Shares of the company ended 1.51 per cent higher at Rs 636.80 apiece on the BSE.
PTI
