Tata Motors' first quarter net profit down 23.11 percent

Tata Motors Wednesday reported a decline of 23.11 percent in consolidated net profit for the first quarter of the current fiscal at Rs.1,762 crore from Rs.Rs.2,245 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

The group's total income rose eight percent at Rs.46,785 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal from Rs.43,324 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

However, the company's standalone profit zoomed 242 percent for the first quarter at Rs.703.26 crore from Rs.205.34 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal, due to high realisation of dividends from its subsidiary companies including Jaguar Land Rover.

"A weak operating environment in the standalone business was more than offset by strong demand, growth in volumes, richer product mix and favourable foreign exchange at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)," the company said in a statement.

According to the company, dividends from its subsidiaries notably Jaguar Land Rover came to about Rs.1,537.12 crore in the quarter under review from Rs.253 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

However, the automobile manufacturer's standalone revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 was down 16.26 percent and stood at Rs.9,105 crore from Rs.10,586 crore for the first quarter of 2012-13.

"The operating margin was 2.3 percent for the quarter ended June 30, 2013, as compared to 7.3 percent in the corresponding quarter last year," the company said.

"Weak macro-economic environment and competitive pressures on pricing, continued to impact the operations during the quarter."

Standalone sales including exports of commercial and passenger vehicles for the quarter under review stood at 1,54,352 units, a decline of 19 percent from 190,483 units sold in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

JLR's wholesales and retail in the quarter ended June 30, 2013, grew by 8.6 percent and 10.4 percent over corresponding period last year to 90,620 units and 94,719 units, respectively.

JLR's revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 GBP 4,097 million pound represented a growth of 12.6 percent over GBP 3,638 million during the corresponding quarter last year.

The net profit for the quarter under review grew by 24.6 percent over the corresponding quarter last year to GBP 415 million from GBP 333 million in the corresponding quarter of 2012-13.

The company's scrip at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed Wednesday's trade down 2.96 percent or 8.50 points at Rs.278.85 from its previous close of Rs.287.35.