Tata Sons board to review financial results, Tata Capital IPO plans

Thursday's meeting to be helmed by group Chairman N Chandrasekaran

Tata Sons, the holding company (holdco) of India’s salt-to-software conglomerate, will meet on Thursday to review its financial results for the year ended March 2025, according to people familiar with the matter. The board, chaired by Natarajan Chandrasekaran, is also expected to be briefed on the upcoming initial public offering of Tata Capital, scheduled for later this year.

 

The meeting will include a review of Tata Sons’ investments in the rights issue of Tata Projects and an update on the performance of key group companies, including Air India, Tata Digital, and other unlisted units.

 

The board may also deliberate on the continued losses at Tata Teleservices and the company’s adjusted gross revenue liabilities to the Indian government, the people said.

 

A spokesperson for Tata Sons declined to comment. 

 

A decision on the dividend is particularly significant for Tata Trusts, which holds a 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons and relies on the payout to fund its philanthropic initiatives. Tata Sons’ largest source of dividend income remains Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which paid ₹44,888 crore in dividends for 2024-25 (FY25), down 5.4 per cent from its record ₹47,467 crore payout a year earlier. Of this, Tata Sons will get ₹32,722 crore as a dividend from TCS. The dividend will be paid by TCS after shareholders clear the payment at the forthcoming annual general meeting.

 

Interestingly, the combined net profit — adjusted for exceptional items — of the group’s 20 listed firms slipped marginally in 2024-25, following robust double-digit growth in 2023-24 (FY24). Aggregate net sales grew at their slowest pace in four years among the group’s 20 listed companies, underscoring a more muted operating environment.

 

The trustees of Tata Trusts, led by Noel Tata, are also meeting this week to discuss the allocation of expected proceeds from the Tata Sons dividend after the shareholders’ annual meeting.

 

The Tata Group holdco is investing ₹91,000 crore in the Dholera semiconductor fabrication plant project, which is expected to be completed by December 2026. Another big-ticket investment is in Assam’s semiconductor assembly, testing, marking, and packaging project, with an investment of ₹27,000 crore. It is expected to be ready by March next year.

 

In FY24, the Tata Group holdco used the TCS dividend proceeds to fully repay bank loans, thereby becoming a debt-free company.   

Points to ponder 

Briefing on the upcoming initial public offering of Tata Capital

  Evaluation of investments made in the rights issue of Tata Projects

  Deliberation on the continued losses at Tata Teleservices and its AGR liabilities

  Decision on the dividend payout significant for Tata Trusts, expected 

Trustees to discuss the allocation of expected proceeds from the Tata Sons dividend

  Review of progress and investments in the Dholera and Assam semiconductor fabrication projects