Tata Motors Group today posted a stellar set of numbers, yet again boosted by its British arm JLR that helped it post a near three-fold spike in its December quarter net at Rs 4,805 crore, coupled with a one-time profit from sale of investments and tax write-back.
This is for the eighth straight quarter that JLR, which Tata Motors had bought as a sick company in 2008 and successfully turned around, has given an impetus to the parent's numbers.
Also, this is the highest net profit since Rs 6,234 crore net the city-based auto major had reported in March 2012 quarter, which also sells the world's cheapest car Nano.
During the reporting quarter, the company earned Rs 1,947.90 crore from sale of investments, while there was a tax credit of Rs 630 crore, which helped boost the profit, company's Chief Financial Officer C Ramakrishnan said.
The company had posted a post-tax profit of Rs 1,628 crore for the corresponding period last year.
However, its domestic passenger and commercial vehicles divisions continued to be the laggard, yet reported a profit Rs 1,250 crore for the quarter on sale of investments, while profit from JLR more than doubled to 619 million pounds.
Ramakrishnan, however, painted a pessimistic picture on the domestic front, saying the company expects demand to be suppressed for a few more quarters.
"Some of our international businesses were with a wholly- owned subsidiary in Singapore while the rest were within Tata Motors. We are carrying out a restructuring under which all of them are being consolidated in the Singapore-based entity due to which we have booked profits," he said, adding the process will get completed by March.
Its Korean arm Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company, which would account over 70 per cent of the restructuring, has been shifted resulting in the accrual of profit, Ramakrishnan said, adding, there shall not be a major impact on the bottomline in the final quarter as other businesses to be transferred are units in Thailand and South Africa which are not so big.
