Strong demand, growth in volumes and favourable market mix at Jaguar Land Rover gave a 10.5 per cent boost to Tata Motors net profit at Rs 2,075 crore in the second quarter ending September 2012. This was slightly short of market expectations. At the end of the September 2011, net profits had stood at Rs 1,877 crore.
The consolidated net revenues were Rs 43,403 crore, up about 20 per cent from Rs 36,198 crore.
Tata Motors, the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the country, said that rising costs and slowing economic growth in the domestic market weakened demand in both the commercial and passenger vehicle segments.
Net profits of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) stood at £305 million compared to £172 million for the corresponding previous quarter. The wholesale segment of JLR grew 13.9 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year to 77,442 units; Jaguar accounted for 9,832 units and Land Rover 67,610 units. During the quarter, JLR paid a maiden equity dividend of £150 million to Tata Motors.
Tata Motors said commercial vehicle sales were down on weak macro-economic conditions. “Sluggish industrial demand coupled with diesel price increases, have impacted medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales. Further, competitive pressures on pricing in certain segments and weak product mix, impacted the operating margins,” said the company.
The operating margin stood at 5.9 per cent for September 2012 compared with 7.2 per cent for the September 2011 quarter. The growth in the passenger car segment was muted due to intense competition, the company said.
On a standalone basis, sales of commercial and passenger vehicles segment stood at 2.23 lakh units, a growth of 5.8 per cent over the same period.
On the way forward for JLR, Ramakrishnan said, “The focus will be on product refreshes as well as focus on profitability, volume growth, managing costs and improving efficiency. There will be planned investments in future new products and technology.”
In a new development, Cyrus P. Mistry, Deputy Chairman of Tata Sons, was appointed Deputy Chairman of Tata Motors. Mistry will also be appointed to the JLR Board.
Ravi Kant has stepped down as Director of Jaguar Land Rover. Mistry will be the Chairman designate and take over from Ratan Tata, who retires in December.