Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company has registered net losses in all the four quarters of the financial year ended March 2001. The reason primarily cited is the economic slowdown, which was getting reflected in abysmal growth in the commercial vehicle segment and also the expenses relating to the Indica car project.
Tata Engineering has made net losses in as many as 10 quarters in the last 16 quarters beginning the quarter ended June 30, 1997.
Though the Indica did help the firm to push up revenues (which were down substantially on account of unprecedented slowdown in the commercial vehicle segment), sales income declined during last three consecutive quarters.
The launch of the Indica was a costly affair. The company suffered net losses in six out of the last eight quarters ever since the small car was launched in February, 1999.
Indeed, the firm did not make losses in two of the eight quarters because of other income of Rs 106.86 crore posted in the quarter ended September 1999 and Rs 102.34 crore in registered in the quarter ended March, 2000. Tata Engineering's net profit in the quarters ended September, 1999, and in March, 2000, was Rs 33.95 crore and Rs 80 lakh, respectively.
After registering a sales growth of 13.24 per cent in the quarter ended June, 2000, Tata Engineering suffered a setback in the subsequent three quarters with sales declining by 8.19 per cent.
During the quarter ended December, 2000, sales were down by 25.62 per cent and during the quarter ended March, 2001, sales were down by 3.43 per cent.
