Mumbai: Tata Motors Ltd, the Indian truckmaker that owns Jaguar Land Rover, posted a consolidated first-quarter loss after sales at the luxury unit plunged amid the global recession.
The net loss was Rs3.29 billion (Dh246 million) in the quarter ended in June, compared with net income of Rs7.2 billion a year ago, the company said in a statement in Mumbai yesterday.
Year-ago numbers don't include Jaguar and Land Rover, which Tata bought from Ford Motor Co in June last year. Sales rose 13 per cent to Rs162.9 billion, Tata said.
Jaguar Land Rover had a loss before interest, tax and exceptional items of Rs8.73 billion in the quarter after vehicle sales plunged in the US and Europe.
Chairman Ratan Tata, 71, has hired two consultants to help cut costs at the UK-based unit after the global financial meltdown slammed demand for luxury products, pushing Daimler AG into losses and cutting profit at BMW.
"The economic recession has hurt luxury vehicle demand and Jaguar Land Rover is among the worst hit," said Deepesh Rathore, a New Delhi-based automotive analyst at IHS Global Insight Inc.
"It's an extremely tough challenge for Tata to boost demand," he said.
Wholesale volumes of Jaguar Land Rover declined by about 52 per cent, the Mumbai-based company said in the statement.
Tata Motors shares, which have more than doubled this year, fell 0.2 per cent to Rs489.7 in Mumbai yesterday. The stock is the second-best performer in India's Sensex index this year.
"Continued adverse global automotive market conditions have resulted in an overall reduction in Jaguar Land Rover volumes during the quarter," Tata Motors, which also makes the $2,500 Nano, the world's cheapest car, said in the statement.
