India’s Tata Motors expects performance to improve from H2 FY2022 (October-March) on easing of semiconductors supplies and rapid COVID-19 vaccinations.
Demand remained strong for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Indian passenger vehicles, with commercial vehicles witnessing a slight improvement, the automaker said.
The company warned that in the short term, the global shortage of semiconductors, increasing cost of raw materials and the uncertainty brought in by the pandemic will impact supply and demand.
Tata Motors expects the shortage of semiconductors to worsen in Q2, as a result, wholesale volumes of JLR are estimated to be about 50pc lower than planned. In Q1, overall retail sales of JLR, which accounts for most of the revenue generated by Tata Motors, shot up by 68.1pc to 124,537 units compared to the prior year. Global wholesales were at 213,600 units, down by 27pc than previous estimates due to chip shortage.
Revenue for Q1 jumped by 108pc to Rs655.35bn as the pandemic boosted the demand for personal vehicles. For the June quarter, the company registered a consolidated loss of Rs44.51bn compared to a loss of Rs84.38bn in the prior year. Consolidated net loss for the June quarter contracted year over year as well as quarter over quarter but was below company estimates due to the global shortage of semiconductors.
Operations in India showed a considerable improvement, although the second wave of COVID-19 along with supply issues slowed down the momentum exponentially. Net sales rose to Rs119.04bn in Q1 from Rs26.86bn in the prior year but fell from net sales of around Rs200bn in Q4 FY2021.