Tata Motors' Q3 net zooms to Rs4,805 cr as JLR sales boom

Tata Motors has reported consolidated after-tax (net) profit (post minority interest and profit / loss in respect of associate companies) of Rs4,805 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2013, against Rs1,628 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Profit before tax for the quarter stood at Rs6,128 crore, against Rs2,668 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Consolidated revenue (net of excise) for the quarter increased by 38.6 per cent to Rs63,877 crore for the quarter, against Rs46,090 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Tata Motors said the growth in volumes has been achieved by high demand for new cars at its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and JLR's favourable product mix and geographic mix.

Revenue at JLR, which accounts for 85 per cent of Tata Motors' consolidated revenues, grew 40 per cent year-on-year thanks to a 27 per cent growth in volumes especially from the new Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-type as well as refreshes.

In fact, its profit grew at a faster pace. At £619 million the profit in December quarter was almost 76 per cent of the profits recorded in the first six months of the fiscal year.

Importantly, the company expects the sales momentum to continue going ahead on the back of recently launched F-Type Coupe and other new models launched earlier.

JLR sales in China, its largest and among its most profitable markets, saw volume growth of 46 per cent with the country's share of overall volumes growing over 300 basis points to 25 per cent.

Tata Motors reported a 69.4 per cent increase in its consolidated after-tax (net) profit (post minority interest and profit / loss in respect of associate companies) of Rs10,073 crore for the nine months ended 31 December 2013, against a net profit of Rs5,947 crore for the corresponding period last year.

Consolidated revenue (net of excise) for the nine months ended 31 December 2013 grew 26.1 per cent to Rs1,67,544 crore over the Rs1,32,816 crore recorded in the corresponding period last year. Consolidated profit before tax for the nine months ended 31 December 2013 was Rs13,807 crore, a growth of 54.5 per cent over Rs8,939 crore of the corresponding period last year.

Tata Motors' standalone financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31 2013.

Total standalone sales (including exports) of commercial and passenger vehicles for the quarter ended 31 December 2013 stood at 1,32,087 units, a decline of 35.7 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.

Revenue (net of excise) for the quarter ended 31 December 2013, stood at Rs7,770 crore, compared to Rs10,630 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

A prolonged slowdown in economic activity, weak consumer sentiment, subdued infrastructure activity, tight financing environment with high interest rates, weak operating economics for transporters due to lower fleet utilisation and stagnant freight rates combined with fuel price increases, continued to impact the industry during the quarter.

The commercial vehicle industry declined in the October-December 2013 quarter over the corresponding period last year, led by a fall of 31 per cent in the cyclical M &HCV segment and around 27 per cent in the LCV segment.

However, value added services and new launches by the company in M&HCV segment led to increase in market share by 200 bps in quarter ended 31 December 2013 compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Profit / loss before and after tax for the quarter ended 31 December 2013 was Rs621 crore and Rs1,251 crore, respectively, against the profit / loss before and after tax of Rs601 crore and Rs458 crore, respectively, for the corresponding quarter last year.

The company is in the process of divesting its investments in certain foreign subsidiary companies to TML Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary. Consequently, profit before tax for the quarter ended 31 December 2013 includes profit of Rs1,948 crore on such divestment.

The revenues (net of excise) for the nine months ended 31 December 2013, were Rs25,743 crore as compared to Rs33,698 crore in the corresponding period last year. Profit before and after tax for the nine months ended 31 December 2013 was Rs391 crore and Rs1,151 crore, respectively, against Rs660 crore and Rs614 crore, respectively, for the corresponding period last year.

Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Co Ltd recorded a net profit of Korean won (KRW) 5 billion (Rs 29.13 crore / $4.66 million) in the quarter ended 31 December 2013 and a net revenue of KRW 213 billion, compared to KRW 175 billion and KRW 0.3 billion, respectively, in the corresponding period last year. Net revenue and net profit for the nine month ended 31 December 2013 stood at KRW 655 billion and KRW 18 billion, respectively, compared to KRW 597 billion and KRW 2 billion, respectively, in the corresponding period last year.

Tata Motors Finance Ltd, the company's captive financing subsidiary, recorded net revenue from operations of Rs695 crore and reported an after-tax loss of Rs1 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2013, compared to Rs757 crore and Rs84 crore, respectively, in the corresponding period last year.

The results for the quarter has been impacted due to tightness in the financial market, stress in the business environment and the consequent higher provision on account of non-performing assets. Net revenue from operations and profit after tax for the nine months ended 31 December 2013, stood at Rs2,216 crore and Rs119 crore, respectively, compared to Rs2,037 crore and Rs226 crore, respectively, in the corresponding period last year.