Tata Motors triples profits with strong JLR sales

 Indian carmaker Tata Motors Thursday reported a three-fold increase in quarterly profits, beating analyst estimates and boosted by higher sales from its Jaguar Land Rover business.

Consolidated net profit for the three months ending September rose to 24.83 billion rupees ($382.10 million) from 8.28 billion rupees a year ago.

A Bloomberg poll of nine analysts expected net profits of 18.4 billion rupees for the quarter.

"With our turnaround plan in full action, we are seeing encouraging results and will continue to drive sustainable profitable growth to meet our future aspirations," Tata Motors CEO Guentek Butschek said in a statement.

Revenue for the period was up 9 percent to 701.56 billion rupees.

Sales of Jaguar Land Rover in the UK, historically the main market for the business, have dipped since the "Brexit" referendum.

Since then the pound has fallen sharply against the Indian currency, down from over 100 rupees to 85.26 rupees.

But Tata Motors said sales of JLR, one of its key products, grew by 27.4 percent in China and 5.1 percent in US, helping to offset the fall in Europe and the UK.

The company was severely hit last year by India's shock cash ban that voided 86 percent of the country's cash reserves, as well as a ban on large diesel vehicles, and new, more stringent emission norms.

Since then it has lined up a slew of new products for the Indian market.

In September Tata Motors won a bid to manufacture thousands of electric cars for the Indian government, as part of a push to promote battery-powered vehicles as the nation grapples with soaring pollution levels.

Shares in Tata Motors, part of the sprawling tea-to-steel conglomerate, rose over half a percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.

source: AFP