Tata Profit Falls 37%

Tata Motors Ltd. netted 39.5 billion rupees ($702 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 compared with 62.3 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) a year earlier.

Revenue grew 10% to 560 billion rupees ($10 billion) in the January-March period. Sales of Tata brand vehicles plummeted 31% to 197,100 units. But demand for Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles climbed 19% to 116,200 units.

JLR's quarterly revenue jumped 22% to 5.1 billion ($7.6 million), propelled by a 48% surge in China. But the unit's net earnings plunged 46% to 378 million ($570 million), largely because of a one-time tax gain of 225 million ($339 million) a year earlier.

The Tata brand's revenue dropped 32% to 111 billion rupees ($2 billion) in the quarter. The business swung to a 3.1 billion-rupee ($56 million) loss from a 5.7 billion-rupee ($101 million) profit a year earlier.

For the full fiscal year, the company's net income slid 27% to 98.9 billion rupees ($1.8 billion). Revenue rose 14% to 1.89 trillion rupees ($33.6 billion).