Tata Motors posts Q3 net at Rs 1756 cr on strong JLR performance; sales dip

Tata Motors on Thursday posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,755.88 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2019.

The auto major had reported a net loss of Rs 26,960.8 crore during the October -December period of 2018-19. Total revenue from operations stood at Rs 71,676.07 crore as compared with Rs 76,915.94 crore in the year-ago period, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing. On a standalone basis, the company posted a net loss of Rs 1,039.51 crore as against a profit of Rs 617.62 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Standalone total revenue stood at Rs 10,842.91 crore as compared with Rs 16,207.67 crore in the same period a year-ago. During the third quarter, the company's standalone wholesales, including exports, declined 24.6 per cent to 1,29,185 units.

Revenues of British arm Jaguar Land Rover increased to 6.4 billion pounds, up 2.8 per cent as compared to same period last fiscal. The brand's total retail sales fell 2.3 per cent during the period under review as against the same period of previous fiscal.

While Jaguar Land Rover has continued its turnaround, market decline and BS-VI stock reduction in domestic market has affected company's performance, Tata Motors said.

Jaguar Land Rover continued its turnaround and transformation journey with another quarter of strong delivery. China continues to improve gradually while Project Charge is well ahead of plans having already delivered 2.9 billion pounds so far, it said.

In India, the auto industry continues to be impacted by the general economic slowdown. The profitability was impacted by adverse mix where despite increasing market shares, M&HCV volumes declined, the company said.

"This coupled with proactive system stock reduction of Rs 3,800 crore resulted in loss of operating leverage," it said.

It further said, "Though the near-term market situation is fluid, we are optimistic on the medium term as we launch our exciting BS-VI range of products with our system inventory at a multi-year low. We remain focused on driving our turnaround strategy and transitioning seamlessly to BS-VI."

Shares of Tata Motors on Thursday ended 0.98 per cent lower at Rs 186.20 apiece on the BSE.