Tata Motors’ consolidated net profit jumped 67.52 per cent to ₹2,941.48 crore in the third quarter ended December 2020, compared to ₹1,755.88 crore in the year ago quarter.
The company had posted a consolidated net loss of ₹307.26 crore during the second quarter of FY21. Revenue from operations stood at ₹75,653.79 crore, a 41.3 per cent increase compared to the ₹53,530 crore it had posted in the second quarter and 5.5 per cent increase from ₹71,676.07 crore in the third quarter of last year.
“The auto industry witnessed strong sales momentum in Q3FY21, driven by the pent-up demand and a steady recovery of the economy. We could leverage the improved demand by a consistent ramp-up of production, addressing supply chain bottlenecks. Due to a strong festival season and a clear preference for personal mobility, the passenger vehicle business posted highest sales in the last 33 quarters. In the commercial vehicle business, the M&HCV and ILCV segments led the overall CV growth of more than 48 per cent in domestic sales compared to the previous quarter,” said Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD, Tata Motors.
Despite the current global challenge of semiconductor supplies, “we are confident of keeping our performance on track in this quarter to close the year on a high for an even stronger play in FY22,” Butschek added.
India operations
Tata Motors’ India operations continued its strong growth in the quarter with CV witnessing a sequential recovery and PV witnessing continued strong growth of its ‘New Forever’ portfolio, the company said.
During the quarter under review, , wholesales (including exports) increased 18.8 per cent to 153,480 units. Domestic wholesales were higher than retails in CV as pipeline inventory was rebuilt post the BS-VI transition, the company said. The domestic retails continue to be higher than wholesales in PV due to continued strong demand, it added.
For the company’s British arm, Jaguar Land Rover, the third quarter reflected strong sequential recovery in retails in all the markets, except the UK where Q3 remains seasonally lower, the company said. Retail sales were 128,469 vehicles, up 13.1 per cent over Q2 but still nine per cent lower than pre-Covid levels a year ago. Sales in China were up 20.2 per cent on the prior quarter and up 19.1 per cent year-on-year. Most other regions also witnessed a sequential recovery though still below the prior year, the company said.
Price increase
Due to the sharp increase in commodity prices and with inflation expected to sustain for the next 3-6 months, the company will make calibrated price increases, said PB Balaji, CFO, Tata Motors, during the conference call with reporters post the Q3 results.