Tata Motors Q3 net jumps 170% as sales rise

By siliconindia staff writer   |   Thursday, 22 January 2004, 20:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
MUMBAI: Tata Motors, India's largest truck and bus maker, reported on Thursday its quarterly profit jumped, slightly above expectations, as its domestic sales boomed in a rebounding economy. The company, also the third largest car and utility vehicle maker, posted a net profit of Rs 2.11 billion ($46.4 million) in its fiscal third quarter ended December 31, up from Rs 757.10 million reported a year earlier. A Reuters poll of 13 analysts, released early last week, estimated net profit rose 168 per cent to Rs 2.03 billion and net sales rose 47 per cent to Rs 32.27 billion. Tata Motors' truck sales, like those of rival Ashok Leyland -- which reports on Friday -- surged as an economic recovery spurred operators to replace ageing fleets and the Government's huge cross-country highway project fuelled demand. Like the top carmaker, Japanese Suzuki Motor Corp affiliate Maruti Udyog Ltd, Tata Motors has seen car sales grow handsomely as consumers tapped cheap finance.