Jaguar Land Rover parent posts bigger quarterly loss on pandemic hit

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) owner Tata Motors Ltd reported a bigger quarterly loss on Friday, as the coronavirus crisis hammered sales in several of its key markets.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on automakers globally and piled pressure on Tata Motors, which was trying to improve JLR’s sales after reeling from weak demand and political uncertainty related to Brexit.

Sales at JLR, which accounts for most of the company’s revenue, fell over 42% during the quarter and Tata Motors said outlook for the unit remains uncertain.

“For the rest of FY21, Jaguar Land Rover will continue to manage costs and investment spending rigorously,” the company said.

Earlier this week, the unit named ousted Renault boss Thierry Bollore as its next chief executive officer, with a mission to return the British carmaker to profit.

Tata Motors reported https://bit.ly/319kXxY a consolidated net loss of 84.38 billion rupees ($1.13 billion) for the first quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of 36.98 billion rupees a year earlier.

The company said it looks forward to a gradual pickup in demand and improvement in supply in the second half of fiscal 2021 as overall economic activity picks up.

Tata Motors’ total revenue from operations fell 48% to 319.83 billion rupees in the quarter as its home market, India, went into a lockdown due to the pandemic.

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)