The good showing by Jaguar Land Rover helped Tata Motors post a four-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 9,274 crore (Rs 2,571 crore) for the fiscal ended March 31, 2011. Revenue was up 33 per cent at Rs 123,133 crore (Rs 92,159 crore).
The picture was not as cheerful on standalone basis with the net profit for the year down 19 per cent to Rs 1,812 crore (Rs 2,240 crore). Revenue, however, increased 35 per cent to Rs 48,040 crore (Rs 35,593 crore).
The JLR impact was evident in the EBITDA margin of 14.4 per cent (9.30 per cent) for the consolidated results which was in stark contrast to 9.9 per cent (11.7 per cent) in the standalone numbers. This was the result of a far more profitable product mix in JLR quite unlike Tata Motors which had to weather the impact of high commodity prices in an intensely price-sensitive market.
JLR posted a net profit of £1,043 million for the fiscal, a remarkable turnaround from a loss of £14 million in 2009-10. Less than two years ago, the acquisition of these two brands was deemed the costliest mistake for Tata Motors when nothing seemed to go right.
The next growth stage for JLR will come from the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies. Friday will see the inauguration of the Land Rover assembly line in Pune, an indicator of the road ahead in India.
For the moment, the UK remains the largest market for JLR with 24 per cent volumes, followed by Europe and North America with 22.4 per cent and 21.6 per cent respectively. China is already at 11 per cent while Russia is inching towards the five per cent mark.
Tata Motors plans to use its Dharwad plant (now home to the Marco Polo buses) for production of the Ace pick-up family. This will be in addition to the Pantnagar facility which, till recently, doubled up as an interim arrangement for the Nano people's car.
The fiscal will also see the entry of the world light commercial vehicle range as well as variants of the Prima and medium/heavy commercial vehicles. Company officials said there were concerns on issues like commodity prices, inflation and interest rates though the biggest positive remained the increased spending on infrastructure development.