New Delhi: Tata Motors reported Monday a consolidated net loss of Rs 9,863.73 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31. The coronavirus-induced lockdown took a toll on the company’s British arm JLR as well as its domestic business. Tata Motors had posted a net profit of Rs 1,108.66 crore in the January-March period of the financial year 2018-19.
Its revenue from operations stood at Rs 62,492.96 crore in the March 2020 quarter, compared with Rs 86,422.33 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, Tata Motors said in a statement.
On a standalone basis, the company reported a net loss from continuing operations at Rs 4,871.05 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020. It had reported a net profit of Rs 106.19 crore in the same period of the financial year 2018-19.
The company’s British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a loss of 501 million pounds in the quarter under review, while the revenue was at 5.4 billion pounds.
For the financial year 2019-20, Tata Motors reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 11,975.23 crore, compared with Rs 28,724.2 crore in 2018-19. Total revenue from operations for 2019-20 stood at Rs 2,61,067.97 crore, compared with Rs 3,01,938.40 crore in 2018-19.
For full 2019-20, JLR reported a net loss of 422 million pounds while the revenues were at 23 billion pounds.
In India, demand that was already adversely impacted by the general economic slowdown, liquidity stress and stock corrections due to the BS-VI transition, was further affected by the lockdown. Steep volume decline, particularly medium and heavy commercial vehicles, and resulting negative operating leverage impacted profitability and cash flows, Tata Motors said in the statement.
As for JLR, the company said that after the British arm’s return to profit in second and third quarters, which reflected improvements achieved through its transformation programme, fourth quarter results were significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tata Motors CEO and MD Guenter Butschek said the auto industry faced strong headwinds in 2019-20 amid a slowing economy due to multiple factors — liquidity crisis, high fuel prices, changes in axle load norms and BS6 transition. The factors led to weak consumer sentiments and subdued demand across segments. “Disruption in the supply chain induced by the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown in mid-March 2020 added to the problems,” he said.
In order to move forward to a sustainable business, the company said it planned a rigorous regimen to conserve cash. Outling the details, Tata Motors Group CFO PB Balaji said in a conference call that the company plans to deleverage its entire business with focus on cost and cash savings in both JLR and the domestic business. “We are aiming to make Tata Motors cash-positive this fiscal itself and JLR next year,” Balaji said.
Tata Motors’ total wholesales, including exports, declined by 35.1 per cent in 2019-20 to 4,75,207 units. Similarly, it reported a 37.4 per cent dip in its domestic passenger vehicle volumes in 2019-20.