With domestic demand not picking up as expected and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) facing headwinds in China, Tata Motors Ltd.’s third quarter consolidated net profit declined 22% to ₹5,578 crore from ₹7,1945 crore a year earlier.
Consolidated revenue from operations increased 3% to ₹1,12,833 crore year on year (YoY). The company reported a 69% decline in standalone net profit to ₹1,404 crore and 9% drop in revenues to ₹16,897 crore.
JLR delivered a robust performance with record quarterly revenue, highest EBIT margin in a decade, and a ninth successive profitable quarter.
Commercial vehicle (CV) revenues declined on account of lower volumes and mix. However EBITDA margins improved to 12.4% (up 130 bps), primarily reflecting material cost saving and the impact of PLI incentive.
Passenger vehicle (PV) revenues were down 4.3%, however EBITDA margin was up by 120 bps at 7.8% due to cost controls and the PLI incentive.
The company said it received sanction of automotive production linked incentives (PLI) in December 2024 and accordingly, an income of ₹351 crore had been recognised during the quarter.
“The fundamentals of the business are strong and therefore despite external challenges we are confident of delivering another strong performance this year,” Group Chief Financial Officer P.B. Balaji said in a conference call.
On the subdued demand witnessed during the third quarter he said, “Demand was not as great as we expected. It can come back with a change in sentiment. We hope the Union Budget will deliver that.”
“We expect underlying domestic demand to improve gradually on account of infrastructure spends, slew of exciting product launches and stable interest rates,” Mr. Balaji said.
“While JLR wholesales are expected to improve further in Q4 FY25, we remain watchful on the overall demand situation, particularly in China,” he said, adding the uptick in JLR sales in the U.S., U.K. and the rest of the world markets had offset the setback in China.
Q3 FY25 revenue of JLR at £7.5 billion grew 1.5% YoY and Profit Before Tax was £523 million. Cash balance was at £3.5 billion and net debt was at £1.1 billion, with gross debt of £4.6 billion, the company said.
Adrian Mardell, JLR Chief Executive Officer, said, “JLR has delivered a robust performance in the third quarter of our financial year, and further milestones in our Reimagine strategy.”
“Thanks to our people and partners, we achieved a record revenue and our best EBIT margin in a decade and our electrification plans are progressing. We revealed the beautiful, reimagined Jaguar design vision – Type 00 – in Miami, and later this year, we will launch Range Rover Electric,” he added.
Commenting on the performance of Tata Motors’ CV business, Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors Ltd. said, “In Q3 FY25, HCV segment witnessed robust sequential recovery, even as the YoY sales declined 9% due to limited growth in end-use segments.”
“The ILMCV segment and passenger carrier segment witnessed 3% and 30% YoY growth, whereas the SCV segment experienced marginal decline due to ongoing financing challenges. The business has delivered strong EBITDA and EBIT margin of 12.4% and 9.6%, respectively, with cost control and reflecting PLI incentive,” he said.
On the PV business, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, TMPV and TPEM said, “In Q3 FY25, we recorded wholesales of 1,40,000 units [1.1% growth over Q3 FY24] and retail sales growth of 6% over Q3FY24. This has allowed us to sharply reduce our channel inventory ahead of Q4 FY25.”
“In the EV segment, we registered 19% growth in the domestic personal segment, although our fleet volumes declined YoY due to the expiry of FAME II subsidy. Our new product launches including Curvv, Curvv.ev, Nexon CNG and Nexon.ev 45 continue to see strong customer traction,” he said.
“Overall, in Q3 FY25, the business delivered resilient performance, with volumes and profitability improving sequentially,” he said.
Published – January 29, 2025 08:31 pm IST
