Tata Motors’ net profit drops 11 pc on slow JLR, commercial vehicles sales

New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) Tata Motors saw its net profit drop more than 11 per cent (year-on-year) to Rs 3,343 crore in the July-September period amid slowing revenue growth in the luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and commercial vehicles business.

The consolidated revenue fell 3.5 per cent to Rs 1.01 lakh crore in a challenging external environment, according to the company.

JLR revenue was down by 5.6 per cent to 6.5 billion pounds (about Rs 71,000 crore) in the quarter.

“As highlighted last quarter, JLR performance was impacted by temporary supply constraints which resulted in EBIT margins of 5.1 per cent (down 220 bps),” said the company in its Q2 FY25 financial results.

The commercial vehicle sales dropped 13.9 per cent at Rs 17,288 crore and passenger vehicle revenue was down 3.9 per cent at Rs 11,700 crore in Q2.

For H1 FY25 (April-September), the automaker reported profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 14,600 crore, an improvement of Rs 2,900 crore over the previous year.

Tata Motors’ Group Chief Financial Officer, P.B. Balaji, said growth in the quarter was impacted due to significant external challenges.

“Overall, the business fundamentals remain strong, and we remain focused on our agenda of driving growth, competitiveness and free cash flows. As the supply challenges ease and demand picks up, we are confident of steady improvement in our performance and delivering a strong H2,” Balaji said in a statement.

The automaker remains “cautious on near-term domestic demand”.

“However, the festive season and substantial investments in infrastructure should help bolster it. JLR wholesales are expected to improve sharply, as supply challenges ease,” the company said.

“Overall, we expect an all-round improvement in performance in H2 FY25 and the business to become net debt free by this year,” Tata Motors noted.

JLR Chief Executive Officer Adrian Mardell said that JLR has delivered a resilient performance in Q2, resulting in a 25 per cent increase in first-half profits year-on-year.

–IANS

na/vd