Tata Motors reported a 5 per cent drop in consolidated revenue to ₹67,484 crore and a 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit to ₹112 crore in the December 2016 quarter. While the non-availability of 2016 models of vehicles such as Discovery affected JLR volumes, its operating margin fell by 510 basis points year-on-year to 9.3 per cent. Launch expenses of upcoming models, higher variable marketing expenses, weaker product mix and unfavourable forex hedges, impacted margins. JLR profit was dented by higher depreciation from new models as well.
Even on the domestic front, although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by the success of the Tiago, commercial vehicle sales contracted. This widened the standalone loss to ₹1,046 crore against a loss of ₹103 crore in the year-ago quarter. The new Discovery and ramp-up of Jaguar F-PACE should aid better volume growth at JLR. But Brexit concerns remain.