Tata Motors closes Q2 with Rs 898.35 cr loss

CHENNAI: Automobile major Tata Motors Ltd closed Q2FY23 with a consolidated net loss of Rs 898.35 crore.

The company said for Q2FY23, it had earned an operational revenue of Rs 78,846.92 crore (last year Q2 Rs 60,435.92 crore) and a net loss of Rs 898.35 crore (Rs 4,415.54 crore).

According to Tata Motors, the commercial vehicles (CV) business registered a 15 per cent growth in sales over Q2 FY22. For India business, domestic wholesales were at 93,651 vehicles (19 per cent yoy).

However, exports were at 6,771 vehicles, lower by 22 per cent affected by the financial crisis in few export markets.

The margin improvement was aided by higher volumes, and realisations, although impacted by residual commodity inflation and forex, the company said in a statement.

"The CV industry is poised for growth on the back of increased infrastructure activity, demand for last mile mobility and strong recovery in the bus segment. We will closely watch the evolving geopolitical, inflation and interest rate risks on both the supply and demand and the impact it can potentially have on business," Tata Motors said.

The passenger vehicle business during the period under review grew with wholesales at 142,755 vehicles (69 per cent yoy and 10 per cent qoq), amid strong festive demand and de-bottlenecking actions.

According to Tata Motors, the demand for passenger vehicles is likely to remain strong, although it could witness some moderation post the festive season.

In Electric Vehicles (EV), the recent launch of the Tiago EV, has opened new vistas and is poised to drive the mass adoption of EVs across the country, the company added.

Tata Motors also said it aims to complete the acquisition of Ford Motor India's plant at Sanand, Gujarat in the coming months.

Despite significant step-up in investments, the passenger vehicle business is expected to remain self-sustaining whilst the EV business investments continue to be well funded, Tata Motors said.

As regards the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business, the company said the revenue was 5.3 billion pounds in Q2 FY23, up 36 per cent year-on-year from Q2 FY22 reflecting strong model mix and pricing with wholesale volumes (excluding China JV) of 75,307 up 17.6 per cent year-on-year and 4.9 per cent in the prior quarter.

The wholesale increase was lower than planned, primarily due to a lower-than-expected supply of specialised chips from one supplier which could not be readily re-sourced in the quarter.

The production ramp up of New Range Rover and New Range Rover Sport improved with 13,537 units wholesale in the quarter, up from 5,790 in Q1 and helped mitigate this, Tata Motors said.

The JLR is continuing to focus on signing long term partnership agreements with chip suppliers which is improving visibility of future chip supply.

According to Tata Motors, the overall demand continues to remain strong, however will remain a key monitorable in wake of global uncertainties.

Improving chip supply and cooling commodity prices will aid revenue and margins recovery.