Tata Engg Rises With Dec Sales

Shares of Tata Engineering edged up in post-noon trades today following reports that it has registered a rise in its vehicle sales in December.

The stock of the largest truck maker closed higher by 1.81 per cent at Rs 101.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after topping at Rs 103 during intraday trades.

As per the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), Tata Engineering's vehicle sales rose 4.54 per cent during December.

That included a 6.71 per cent rise in its medium- and heavy-vehicle sales to 5,104 units and a 66 per cent jump in Indica sales to 3,787. However, sales of light commercial vehicle fell 29.3 per cent to 2,507 units, while sales of utility vehicles fell 10 per cent to 1,906.

A strong performance by the newly launched Indica V2 model and a recovery in sales of commercial vehicles has led to buying pressure at the counter. The scrip has surged 61.22 per cent since Rs 63.45 on 17 September 2001.

By restructuring its operations and improving the sales performance, the company has managed to stem its losses in the recent quarter.

For the second quarter of this fiscal, the company reduced its losses to Rs 52.58 crore compared with a loss of Rs 117.87 crore during the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The sales of the company during the quarter improved to Rs 2,054.48 crore form Rs 1,899.56 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

For the half-year ended September 30, 2001, the company reported a loss of Rs 147.08 crore compared with Rs 192.21 crore loss in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. During the period the sales of the company rose to Rs 3,751.86 crore compared with Rs 3,697.22 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.