Tata Motors profit up on Jaguar Land Rover sales

Mumbai, February 26, 2010

Tata Motors, India's top vehicles maker, on Friday posted a consolidated net profit for the second straight quarter as sales from its British Jaguar and Land Rover unit recovered.

The company, which is India's largest trucks and bus maker, reported a consolidated net profit of Rs6.5 billion  ($140.7 million) for its fiscal third quarter ended December.

In the year-ago period, the company had posted a net loss of Rs26 billion.

Tata's JLR British luxury unit, which it bought in 2008 from Ford for $2.3 billion, has weighed on earnings as demand crumbled during the financial crisis, but sales and margins have been picking up.

In January, Tata reported a net profit of Rs4 billion for its domestic operations in the December quarter on increased demand for its cars, trucks and buses.

Shares in Tata Motors, valued at $7.7 billion, rose 34 per cent in the December quarter, outperforming the main index that rose about two per cent.-Reuters

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