New Delhi: Auto major Tata Motors on Tuesday reported a consolidated profit of INR 3,301 crore in the first quarter of FY24. The company had posted a consolidated net loss of INR 4,951 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.
Consolidated revenue stood at INR 1,01,528.5 crore, as against INR 71,228 crore in the year-ago period.
Total expenses were at INR 98,267 crore, as against INR 77,784 crore in the same quarter a year ago, the company said.
On a standalone basis, loss after tax narrowed to INR 64 crore in Q1 FY24, from INR 181 crore in Q1 FY23.
Standalone revenue was at INR 15,733 crore, as compared to INR 14,793 crore, it added.
Overall, Tata Motors said it continued its strong performance in Q1 FY24 showing a sharp improvement driven by JLR and commercial vehicles businesses, whilst the passenger vehicles business was steady, the company said.
Looking Ahead, Tata Motors remains optimistic on the demand situation despite near term uncertainties and expects a moderate inflationary environment to continue in the near term.
“We aim to deliver a strong performance in the rest of the year too, thanks to a healthy order book coupled with low-break-even in JLR, a steady improvement in demand whilst we continue to drive our demand-pull strategy in CV, a set of exciting launches ahead of the festive season in PV and continued aggression in EVs,” it said.
PB Balaji, Group Chief Financial Officer, Tata Motors, said, “FY24 has begun on the right note with all automotive verticals delivering strong performances. The distinct strategy employed by each business is now delivering consistent results and making them structurally stronger. We remain confident of sustaining this momentum in the rest of the year and achieve our stated goals.”
Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director TMPV and , said, “In line with industry trend, SUVs continued to spearhead sales contributing about 64% while sales of cars were buoyed by the multi-power train offerings of the Tiago and Altroz. Going forward, we expect a stable supply chain and robust demand with the onset of the festive season in the second half of Q2 FY24.”
Going forward, demand in the PV segment is expected to remain steady with the onset of the festive season whilst the electrification trend is set to strengthen further. We will continue to leverage our aspirational portfolio and alternate powertrains to maintain market leadership and drive EV penetration further. We will also focus on advanced technologies to deliver premium customer experience. A structured margin improvement program has also been institutionalized. With these, the business is confident of delivering market beating growth and achieving its financial targets, the company said.
Girish Wagh, Executive Director Tata Motors Ltd, said, “The Indian commercial vehicles sector made a promising start to FY24 in Q1, enabled by a strong infrastructure push from the Government as well as increased economic activity. At Tata Motors, we successfully upgraded our entire portfolio beyond the mandatory requirements for BS6 Phase 2 transition to offer more features, value-adds and benefits to customers. We were impacted in the earlier part of the quarter with availability issues due to this large transition but delivered sequentially improved performance as the quarter progressed. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic on the demand environment even as it continues to face the headwinds of high interest rates, fuel prices and inflation. We will continue to drive our demand-pull strategy and step up our competitiveness with improved availability of our exciting range of products as the year progresses.”
The company expects the demand to sequentially improve in FY24. The promising monsoon and continuing infrastructure thrust by the Government auger well for the CV industry, even as it faces the headwinds of high interest rates, fuel prices and inflation.
“We will continue to drive our demand-pull strategy and drive customer preference through innovation, service quality and thematic brand activation. In the coming quarters, we aim to step up Vahan market shares and revenue growth through innovation, service quality and thematic brand activation and deliver double digit EBITDA in FY24 by improving realisations and cost savings,” it said.
Adrian Mardell, JLR Chief Executive Officer, said, “I am pleased to report a third consecutive quarter of strengthening financial performance for JLR. We have had a strong start to the financial year and delivered our highest production levels in nine quarters and our highest Q1 cashflow on record. This is testament to the thousands of determined people in the business working tirelessly to deliver every aspect of our Reimagine strategy.”
For JLR, the company said Q2 production and cash flow is expected to be lower than Q1 reflecting the annual summer plant shutdown while wholesales and profitability are expected to be more in line with recent quarters.