BENGALURU, Jan 31(Reuters) – Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) owner Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.NS) reported a quarterly loss on Monday that was bigger than expected and warned of rising inflationary costs.
Automakers worldwide have been roiled by chip shortages, supply chain disruptions, COVID-19 restrictions and rising raw material prices after a short-lived recovery towards the end of 2020.
“Demand remains strong despite near term concerns … the semiconductor supply situation is improving gradually whilst inflation worries persist,” Tata Motors said in an exchange filing.
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The company expects chip shortages at JLR to continue through 2022 as suppliers gradually ramp up production, and is also engaging directly with chip manufacturers to secure supply longer-term supplies for the Range Rover maker, it said.
Tata Motors’ consolidated net loss came in at 15.16 billion rupees ($203.23 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a profit of 29.06 billion rupees a year earlier, when an easing of pandemic-related restrictions led to a pick-up in sales.
However, the recovery was short-lived as acute semiconductor shortages and supply chain disruptions delayed production, and Tata Motors slipped back to losses.
For the reported quarter, analysts had expected the Mumbai-based company to report a loss of 3.30 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Tata Motors’ earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin, a key measure of profitability, was 10.2% for the quarter, above estimates of 9.3%.
Total revenue from operations for the quarter fell 4.5% to 722.29 billion rupees, below estimates of 775.93 billion rupees.
($1 = 74.5950 Indian rupees)
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Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru and Aditi Shah in New Delhi; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta
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