Tata Motors posted a 12 per cent increase in its net profits for the June 2012 quarter at Rs 2,245 crore. The auto-major’s net profits were slightly lower than market expectations due to higher foreign-exchange losses and higher tax rates. The company had posted net profit of Rs 2,000 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The company faced foreign exchange loss of Rs 441 crore this quarter as compared to Rs 57 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Analysts say that a nearly eight-fold increase in the foreign exchange losses added to the lower profits. The company also paid higher tax rates this quarter which was 24 per cent as compared to 15 per cent in the corresponding June quarter.
Net revenue for the company during the period was up 30 per cent to Rs 43,324 crore. “The strong growth for new products and upswing in demand for products from markets like China helped,” said C. Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Motors. The operating margins for the company stood at 14.4 per cent as against 13.4 per cent in the previous corresponding quarter. Jaguar-Land Rover saw volumes growth of 34.4 per cent on the back of strong demand for new products like Range Rover Evoque, and strong growth in China and from other developing markets. China volumes grew 91 per cent year-on-year and was the largest wholesale market for the company in the June 2012 quarter.
On a standalone basis, the company saw its net profits nearly halve from Rs 401 crore in the June 2011 quarter to Rs 205 crore in the June 2012 quarter. Net revenue for the company was also down nine per cent to Rs 10,586 crore. Volumes, net revenue and profitability of the domestic business were impacted by weak macro economic factors, subdued outlook and competitive pressures in the passenger vehicle business, said the company.
“Tata Motors (results were largely in-line with our estimates on the top-line front; however bottom-line (adjusted for forex loss) was slightly lower-than-expected due to higher tax rate (primarily at JLR) and higher interest expense,” said Yaresh Kothari, Research Analyst at Angel Broking.
A decline in demand was witnessed for medium heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) due to competitive pricing pressures, low freight and excise duty increases in March 2012. Higher volume growth in the small commercial vehicle business was due to increased production in the Pantnagar and Dharwad facilities.
The company saw an increase of 1.3 per cent in commercial vehicle sales from 1,13,186 in the June 2011 quarter to 1,14,710 in the June 2012 quarter. MHCV sales numbers fell from 45,570 in June 2011 quarter to 34,555 in the June 2012 quarter.
The increase was led mainly by an increase in the light commercial vehicle sales which rose from 67,616 to 80,155 in the period under consideration.