Tata Motors reports narrowing of consolidated net loss at Rs 4,450 cr in Q1

Homegrown auto major Tata Motors on Monday reported a narrowing of consolidated net loss at 4,450 crore in the first quarter ended June 30 as sales improved when compared with the same period of the last fiscal.

The Mumbai-based company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 8,444 crore in the same quarter last fiscal amid massive disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations during the period under review stood at Rs 66,406 crore as against Rs 31,983 crore in the year-ago quarter, the company added.

British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) posted revenue of 5 billion pounds in the first quarter, up 73.7 per cent than Q1 in the prior year, the company said, adding JLR had a pre-tax loss of 110 million pounds.

JLR retail sales in the first quarter were 1,24,537 vehicles, up 68.1 per cent year-on-year as sales continued to recover from the impact of the pandemic but shortage of semiconductor supplies constrained production.

Commenting on the performance, JLR CEO Thierry Bollore said, ''We are pleased to see a continuing positive recovery from the pandemic, with year-on-year growth in all regions, demonstrating the appeal of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.'' Though the current environment continues to remain challenging, he said, ''We will continue to adapt and manage elements that are within our control and ensure that Jaguar Land Rover is well-placed to respond to any further market developments.'' On a standalone basis, Tata Motors said its continuing business posted a net loss of Rs 1,321 crore, putting up a better performance from a net loss of Rs 2,191 crore in the year-ago period.

Standalone total revenue from operations stood at Rs 11,904 crore as against Rs 2,687 crore in the same period a year ago, the company said.

''In Q1FY22 wholesales, including exports, increased 351.4 per cent to 1,14,170 units. The volumes across all segments significantly grew as compared to Q1 FY21, however they were lower than Q4 FY21 due to the lockdowns imposed due to the second wave of pandemic,'' Tata Motors said.

Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh said the successful implementation of a comprehensive Business Agility plan enabled it to manage lockdowns effectively and also deliver competitive growth as markets reopened.

''In the near term, we remain focused on fulfilling customer demands while driving all levers of the business to mitigate the unprecedented commodity inflation,'' he added.

Looking beyond the short-term challenges, Wagh said, ''We see significant opportunities to leverage the mega trends shaping the Indian automotive industry.'' The company is working to transform the customer experience digitally and also strengthen our lead in sustainable mobility, he said adding ''we will continue to make the requisite investments to ensure a competitive product portfolio whilst driving down the cash break-evens of the business to deliver consistent, competitive and cash accretive growth over the medium to long term''. Later, Tata Motors CFO P Balaji told reporters in a virtual press conference that JLR now expects semiconductor supply shortages in the July-September quarter to be greater than in the first quarter, potentially resulting in wholesale volumes about 50 per cent lower than planned. JLR currently has about 1,10,000 global retail orders pending.

The company expects the situation to start to improve in the second half of the financial year, he added.

The impact of semiconductor shortage is not much on the company's domestic business and there the company expects to pick up performance from the second quarter itself, Balaji noted.

When asked about expected turnaround in the company's domestic business, Balaji said that the automaker is on the right path and expects to become cash break-even in the passenger vehicle segment by FY'23.

As far as commercial vehicles are concerned, there are different sets of challenges and it is a matter of time before the situation starts to improve, he noted. On subsidiarisation of the company's passenger vehicle business, Balaji said: ”The final hearing in the NCLT is over and the judgement is reserved and we are expecting the formal order pretty soon.'' The priorities for the business right now are to continue the momentum, focus on the launching new products and ensure that the company turbo charges the electric vehicle segment. ''We believe the timing is appropriate and we also believe that the customer is willing to move with soaring fuel prices and increase in the charging infrastructure in the country...so there will be significant number of models which would be launched, there would also be investment on the charging infrastructure,” Balaji stated.PTI MSS RKL MKJ