Tata Motors net halves on higher costs

Homegrown auto major Tata Motors’ on Wednesday posted a 50 per cent fall in net profit during the March quarter due to higher expenses and a one-time impairment charge for certain product development programmes.

The company recorded a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,176.16 crore for the fourth quarter versus Rs 4,336.43 crore in the same period in the previous year, the company said. The results come at a time when Tata’s British luxury brand, Jaguar Land Rover, is bracing for a tough year amid concerns that Britain’s departure from the European Union in 2019 might create barriers to trade. “In the near-term, the challenges of market, technology and geo-political uncertainties are likely to persist,” Tata Motors Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said.

The automaker’s consolidated income from operations stood at Rs 91,279.09 crore against 78,746.61 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The two figures are not comparable due to GST implementation from July 1 last year, after which the revenue from operations is reported net of GST.

On a standalone basis, the company said its net loss in the fourth quarter narrowed to Rs 499.94 crore. It was Rs 805.93 crore in the same quarter a year-ago. Standalone revenue from operations for the quarter was at Rs 19,779.32 crore. It was at Rs 15,080.56 crore in the year-agoperiod.