Tata Motors posts Rs 1,451-cr loss in Q3 amid chip shortage

Homegrown auto major Tata Motors on Monday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,451.05 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2021, dragged down by the impact of semiconductor shortage on its British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,941.48 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Its consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 72,229.29 crore in the third quarter as against Rs 75,653.79 crore in the year-ago quarter, it added.

JLR posted pre-tax loss of 9 million pounds in the quarter, while revenue was down 21.1 per cent at 4.7 billion pounds, Tata Motors said in a statement. JLR sales remain constrained by chip shortages with retail sales of 80,126 vehicles, down 37.6 per cent as compared to the third quarter of FY21, it added.

"Whilst semiconductor supplies have continued to constrain sales this quarter, we continue to see very strong demand for our products underlining the desirability of our vehicles," JLR Chief Executive Officer Thierry Bollor said.

He further said the global order book is at record levels and has grown to 30,000 units for the New Range Rover before deliveries even start this quarter.

On the outlook for JLR, the company said the semiconductor shortage is expected to continue through 2022 but is expected to gradually improve as capacity within the supply base increases, while it is also engaging with first-tier suppliers and directly with the chip manufacturers to secure supply longer-term.

"With this gradual expected improvement, Jaguar Land Rover expects Q4 profits to improve from Q3 with positive cashflow," it added.

On a standalone basis, Tata Motors reported a net profit of Rs 175.85 crore in te period under review as against a net loss of Rs 638.04 crore in the third quarter of 2020-21 fiscal.

Revenue from operations stood at Rs 12,352.78 crore in the third quarter as compared with Rs 9,635.78 crore in the same period previous fiscal. In the third quarter, wholesales, including exports, increased 30.4 per cent to 2,00,212 units.

The volumes across all segments significantly grew as compared to Q3 FY21, despite supply challenges whilst there was all round market share gains in both commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles, the company said.

"The auto industry continued to witness rising demand in most segments even as the supply of semiconductors remained restricted resulting in adverse impact on production," Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh said.

At Tata Motors, he said the company's agility in both planning and execution, helped optimise production to deliver another strong quarter with accelerated sales.

"We also recorded the highest ever EV sales during the quarter and sold 10,000 EVs in the nine months of FY22, crossing new milestones," Wagh said.

Looking ahead, he said,"We expect the demand for commercial, passenger and electric vehicles to sustain even as concerns related to supply of semiconductors, high input costs and rising instances of covid keep the overall situation fluid."

The demand remains strong despite near term concerns from Omicron spread. The semiconductor supply situation is improving gradually whilst inflation worries persist, Tata Motors said.

Over the last two years, the resilience of the business has improved, and it is now intrinsically stronger.

With concerted actions in place to address the near-term supply and cost challenges, the company said it expects performance to improve further in Q4 FY22 and beyond.