Tata Motors net up 31% at Rs 442 crore

Commercial and passenger vehicles manufacturer Tata Motors on Monday reported a 31 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 441.72 crore for the quarter ended September 30 this year and saw its stock fall nearly 4 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange even as the Sensex surged to a historic high.

The company's revenue on a standalone basis (net of excise) rose 37 per cent to Rs 6,571.79 crore for the quarter.

Rising raw material costs played spoilsport even as truck and car sales accelerated by 30.5 per cent to 139,704 for the quarter.

"During the quarter, the company continued to witness increases in input costs, interest rates and general inflationary pressure, which are expected to continue during the rest of the year," according to a Tata Motors' statement.

"The pressure on margins will increase in the second half of the year on account of higher input costs, which is a concern. We are constantly reducing costs and will have to continue to do so in the future," said Praveen Kadle, executive director, finance, Tata Motors.

The company's consolidated revenue (net of excise) "� adding the numbers of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles, Tata Technologies and one axle and a transmission company "� rose 42 per cent to Rs 7,702.66 crore.

The consolidated net profit for the quarter increased 36 per cent to Rs 536.44 crore.

Tata Motors has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the growth in demand for commercial vehicles in Asia's fourth-largest economy.