Tata Motors Net Trebles to 9,274 cr

Tata Motors on Thursday said its full-year profit more than trebled, driven by a strong performance of its British luxury brands, Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR). India's largest truck and bus maker posted a consolidated net profit of . 9,274 crore for the fiscal year ended March, compared with . 2,571 crore a year ago. The rise in profit was largely driven by the near . 7,700 crore (£1.04 billion) net profitability of its JLR unit, which was initially loss-making, but has turned around in the last few quarters.  "The improved profitability was driven by higher volumes and pricing of these (JLR) products across various markets," chief financial officer C Ramakrishnan told reporters. The company's  net profit from domestic operations, however, dropped 19% to . 1,812 crore, compared with . 2,240 crore in 2009-10. An analyst tracking Tata Motors said high commodity prices and lower sales could check profitability of the company, and the auto sector in general. Tata Motors, part of salt-tosoftware Tata conglomerate, builds utility vehicles, cars and the ultra-cheap Nano. It acquired Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor in 2008 for $2.3 billion. JLR's global sales volume for the year rose 26% to 2.43 lakh units, helped by improved market conditions, better market mix and strong demand from China, which has emerged as one of the strongest markets for the brand. The company's global sales for the year rose 24% to 10.80 lakh vehicles, backed by its wide product portfolio. Consolidated revenue rose by a third to . 1.23 lakh crore. In the domestic market, sales of Tata's passenger vehicles, including Fiat and JLR vehicles distributed in India, grew 23% year-on-year to 3.19 lakh units, helped by rising personal incomes and easier finance. In the commercial vehicles segment, its sales jumped 22.7% year-on-year to 4,58,828 units, mainly because of improved infrastructure. In India, the demand for cars is expected to moderate because of higher fuel costs and interest rates. It was 30% last year. Rising raw materials prices had forced Indian car makers to raise prices in recent months. The company also recommended a . 20 dividend per share. Its board approved a five-for-one stock split where Tata Motors' ordinary and 'A' ordinary shares, both of . 10 each, will be divided into shares of . 2 each.