India’s Tata Motors tops fourth-quarter profit view on higher JLR sales, lower costs

Indian automaker Tata Motors reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by higher sales at its luxury stable Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and lower expenses.

The company reported a consolidated net profit of 84.70 billion rupees ($993 million) for the fourth quarter ended March 31, topping analysts’ expectations of 74.58 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Tata Motors is the parent of British luxury carmaker JLR, which accounts for about two-thirds of Tata Motors’ overall revenue. Sales volumes at JLR rose 1.1% in the quarter, helped by strong demand for its highly profitable SUVs in North America and Europe.

While that growth has slowed over the last few quarters due to falling China sales, the high-margin business has been able to offset weak demand in Tata Motors’ home market where it sells cars, trucks and buses.

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Revenue at JLR grew 2.4% in Indian rupees terms, helping overall revenue inch 0.4% higher to 1.2 trillion rupees. The British carmaker’s quarterly earnings margin before interest and taxes came in at 10.7%, helping the company meet its full-year margin target of 8.5% for fiscal 2025.

Tata Motors did not provide a fiscal 2026 margin target for JLR, but said it would share more details during its investor day next month.

Expenses, meanwhile, declined about 2%, led by a 1.6% drop in raw material costs.

Tata Motors’ shares closed 1.8% lower ahead of the results.