Tata Motors' consolidated net profit falls 49% in Q1 FY2016

Tata Motors today reported consolidated revenues (net of excise) of Rs 61,020 crore for the first quarter (April-June 2015), a 6 percent drop from Rs 64,683 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Tata Motors says this is due to lower sales and weaker geographic mix at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). It was partially offset by strong revenue growth in standalone business on the back of continued M&HCV growth. The consolidated profit before tax for the quarter was Rs 4,359 crore, as compared to Rs.7,528 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year and the consolidated profit after tax (post minority interest and share of profit / (loss) of associates (net) for the quarter was Rs.2,769 crore as compared to Rs.5,398 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. That is a whopping 49 percent fall.

Tata Motors standalone financial results for Q1 FY2016

Fleet replacement demand mainly in the high-tonnage segment helped drive the  sales growth of 20.7 percent Y-o-Y in the domestic MHICV segment. However, the domestic LCV segments (mainly SCVs) continued to remain weak, witnessing a de-growth of 19.0 percent Y-o-Y, due to the tough financing environment and lack of last mile load availability.

Exports of commercial vehicles saw strong growth of 38.0 percent Y-o-Y in the quarter. As a result, the overall CV sales were almost flat in the quarter. The company says new launches in the Prima LX, Ultra range and SCV range as well as other product enhancements provide a strong foundation for future growth. Q1 saw the 10th anniversary of the Tata Ace SCV which crossed the 1.5 million sales mark in a decade.

In passenger vehicles, the Zest, Bolt and newly launched GenX Nano helped boost sales by 27.4 percent Y-o-Y in the quarter with car segment growth of 42.2 percent. The sales (including exports) of commercial and passenger vehicles for the quarter stood at 1,17,439 units, a growth of 6.2 percent as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The revenues (net of excise) for the quarter stood at Rs 9,297 crore, as compared to Rs 7,705 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs.440 crore at 4.7percent. Profit before and after tax for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 was Rs.269 crore and Rs.258 crore, respectively, against the Profit before and after tax of Rs.394 crore, for the corresponding quarter last year. Profit before tax for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, includes other income (profit on sale of investments in subsidiary companies and dividends from subsidiary companies) of Rs.805 crore (Rs.1,549 crore for the corresponding quarter last year).

JLR numbers hit by slow offtake in China

Jaguar Land Rover wholesales were 110,648 units and sales (including from China JV) for the first quarter were 114,905 units.

Revenues for the quarter stood at £ 5,002 million (Rs 49,234 crore) against £ 5,353 million (Rs 52,689 crore) for the corresponding quarter last year. Operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at £ 821 million (Rs 8,081 crore) at 16.4 percent, against £ 1,087 million (Rs 1,097 crore) for the corresponding quarter last year.

The financial performance in the quarter was lower than the strong corresponding quarter last year due to softer sales in China. This was partially offset by a strong performance in the UK, Europe and North America.

Land Rover maintained healthy sales in the quarter with Range Rover, Range Rover Sport Discovery and Defender all up compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The Discovery Sport performed well, already outselling the Freelander which it replaced. Evoque sales were lower due to the ramp up of localised production in China and softer market conditions there. Jaguar sales volumes were down as the sales of XF and XJ fell ahead of the all-new lightweight XF and the refreshed XJ 16MY, on sale later this year, partially offset by the successful introduction of the new Jaguar XE.

Profit before and after tax stood at £ 638 million (Rs 6,279 crore) and £ 492 million (Rs 4,842), respectively (£ 924 million and £ 693 million, respectively in the corresponding quarter last year).