Tata Motors slumps to second-quarter loss

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd on Friday reported a 4.3 billion rupee ($65.4 million) net loss in the July to September quarter, dragged down by weaker sales in China and a one-time loss related to vehicles damaged in a port explosion.

Tata said in a statement it had booked a 24.93-billion-rupee charge after a chemical blast in the Chinese port of Tianjin in August destroyed or damaged thousands of vehicles made by its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business.

The company said its consolidated profit before tax and exceptional items slid to 15.4 billion rupees from 56.4 billion a year earlier, reflecting weaker sales in China, once its fastest growing market, and foreign exchange moves.

Strong sales of its JLR cars, especially in China, have long propped up profits at Tata Motors, but the company has been struggling with sluggish demand in emerging markets in the last couple of years.

Chinese sales fell 32 percent in its fiscal second quarter as an economic slowdown hit the world's biggest car market.

However, Tata said stronger performance in Europe and North America helped to offset weaker sales in China and other emerging markets, and net sales during the quarter rose to 608.53 billion rupees versus 601.64 billion a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected Tata to report a net profit of 21.36 billion rupees for the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data. Last year the company made 32.9 billion rupees in profit during the same period.

Shares in Tata, which have fallen by close to a fifth this year, closed down 1.9 percent on Friday in a flat Mumbai market.

($1 = 65.7800 rupees)

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Mark Potter)