JLR's sales grew 3.5% to 154,447 units, driven by a 14.6% increase in unit sales in China and an 18.2% rise in overseas markets
Tata Motors returned to black in the December quarter with a net profit of Rs 183.65 crore against a loss of Rs 1,052.13 crore in the year-ago period even as its marquee UK Unit Jaguar Land Rover printed lower numbers.
At the group level, its net profit rose over 11-fold year on year to Rs 1,215 crore for the December quarter. Group revenue rose 16.1% to Rs 74,156 crore, the company said in an exchange filing.
On a standalone basis, Tata Motors's revenue rose 59% to Rs 16,102 crore.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Automotive on Monday reported pre-tax profits of £192 million for Q3, down from £255 million posted a year ago as major investment in new models and challenging trading conditions in key markets offset a steady rise in unit sales. The company's investment spending exceeded £1 billion in the third quarter and is expected to be in the region of £4-£4.35 billion for the full year.
JLR's retail sales grew 3.5% to 154,447 units, driven primarily by a 14.6% increase in unit sales in China and an 18.2% rise in overseas markets. This improvement was offset by flatter demand in the US, UK and Europe.
In the domestic business, the company witnessed an overall wholesale (including exports) growth of 31% to 172,952 units. Its Ebitda margin stood at 9.0%.· Further, it made an investment of Rs 1,021 crore in products, platforms and technologies.
According to N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, the 'turnaround strategy' is delivering results in the domestic market. "Our focus on market share gain coupled with operational improvements is working well, with both commercial and passenger vehicle businesses is delivering improved results."
Chandrasekaran, in May last year, had raised serious concerns over the falling market share of the company. The Tata Motors's annual report (2016-17) claimed its commercial share has fallen to 44.4% from a high of 59.4% in FY 2011-12, while market share for PV declined to 5.2% from 13.1% in the same period. The report blamed delays in launching of new products, inadequate responsiveness to the competitive environment and an unsustainable cost structure as among the prime reasons for the fall.
As part of its turnaround plan, Tata Motors is aiming to be among the top three vehicle manufacturers in India by 2019. It is has 'accelerated' plan with frequent new launches, newer technologies, cost-cutting measures, enhanced stakeholder engagement and aggressive market activation.
"The company is getting aggressive on all fronts. Right from launching new products, generating new demand, expanding their distribution network. However, consistency is the key and Tata Motors will have to keep doing it month after month," said Abdul Majeed, Partner, Price Waterhouse.
According to the company dealers, new products like Tiago, Tigor and Hexa helped drive sales momentum in the PV business, while the recently-launched Tata Nexon has given the sales team to back their bets on. In order to correct the perception of poor after sales services, Tata Motors is revamping its after-sales service dealerships in a big way and plans to increase it to over 1,500 in the next two years.
Similarly, as part of changes in the CV segment, the company is rolling out a new platform for products apart from introducing a new range of engines in order to phase out the earlier ones.
UK UNIT DRIVE
- JLR's sales grew 3.5% to 154,447 units, driven by a 14.6% increase in unit sales in China and an 18.2% rise in overseas markets
- This improvement was offset by flatter demand in the US, UK and Europe
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