Homegrown auto major Tata Motors on Friday reported a 67.52 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 2,941.48 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, aided by pent-up demand amid steady recovery in the economy.
The Mumbai-based company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,755.88 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2019-20.
Its total revenue during October-December 2020 rose to Rs 75,653.79 crore as against Rs 71,676.07 crore in the year-ago period, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing.
On a standalone basis, Tata Motors reported a net loss of Rs 638.04 crore. It had posted a net loss of Rs 1,039.51 crore in the year-ago period.
Total revenue, however, rose to Rs 14,630.60 crore, compared with Rs 10,842.91 crore a year ago.
The company's British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a pre-tax profit of 439 million pounds, 121 million pounds better year-on-year, it added.
Tata Motors CEO and MD Guenter Butschek said the automobile industry witnessed a strong sales momentum in the third quarter, driven by the pent-up demand and a steady recovery of the economy.
"We could leverage the improved demand by a consistent ramp-up of production, addressing supply chain bottlenecks.
"Due to a strong festive season and a clear preference for personal mobility, the PV business posted its highest sales in the past 33 quarters," he added.
In the commercial vehicle business, the medium and heavy CV (M&HCV) and intermediate and light (ILCV) segments led the overall CV growth of over 48 per cent on the back of higher domestic sales compared to the previous quarter, Butschek noted.
Besides, the company improved its operational and financial performance by reducing costs and generating free cash flows, he said.
"Despite the current global challenge of semiconductor supplies, we are confident of keeping our performance improvement on track in this quarter to close the year on a high for an even stronger play in 2021-22," Butschek said.
During the third quarter, Tata Motors reported an 18.8 per cent increase in its total wholesales (including exports) to 1,53,480 units. In the domestic market, passenger vehicles volumes rose 87.5 per cent as compared to the corresponding period a year ago.
JLR sales stood at 1,28,469 units, down by 9 per cent from the same period last fiscal.
"The performance is a credit to the outstanding efforts of the employees of the company to overcome many challenges this year," JLR Chief Executive Officer Thierry Bollore said.
Looking ahead, these challenges continue, including the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy, the UK's new trading relationship with the EU, and the significant technological changes taking place in the automotive industry, he added.
Tata Motors said its board allotted 23,13,33,871 ordinary shares of a face value of Rs 2 each to Tata Sons at a price of Rs 150 per share.
Shares of the auto major on Friday ended 1.59 per cent down to Rs 262.60 on the BSE.
