Tata Motors reports ₹3,486cr Q3 loss as revenue falls 26%
What's the story
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited has reported a consolidated loss of ₹3,486 crore for the third quarter. This is a sharp decline from the profit of ₹5,406 crore recorded during the same period last year. The company's revenue from operations also fell by 26% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹70,108 crore. Both these figures were significantly impacted by a recent cyberattack at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
Future outlook
Recovery anticipated in Q4
Despite the dismal performance in Q3, Tata Motors is optimistic about a strong recovery in the fourth quarter. The company's Chief Financial Officer Dhiman Gupta said, "Overall, it was a challenging quarter as anticipated on account of carryover impact of Cyber Incident at JLR." He added that while domestic business delivered robust revenue and margin improvement QoQ, they expect performance to significantly improve in Q4 with recovery at JLR and continuing growth in domestic market share.
Revenue drop
JLR's revenue fell by 39% YoY
JLR's revenue for the quarter stood at £4.5 billion, a 39% decrease compared to Q3 FY25. This was mainly due to a decline in wholesale volumes after the cyber incident. Production only returned to normal levels by mid-November, with additional time needed thereafter to distribute vehicles globally. The planned wind-down of legacy Jaguar models ahead of a new launch and worsening market conditions in China also impacted profitability year-on-year.
Financial impact
JLR reaffirms guidance for FY26
JLR reported a loss before tax and exceptional items of £310 million for Q3. Despite these challenges, the company remains resilient and well-positioned to tackle economic, geopolitical, and policy challenges in the industry. JLR plans to maintain an investment spend of £18 billion over five years from FY24. The guidance for FY26 has been reaffirmed with EBIT margin expected between 0% to 2% and free cash outflow projected between £2.2-2.5 billion.
Volume increase
Standalone PV business performance in Q3 FY26
Excluding JLR, Tata Motors's PV and EV volumes for the quarter stood at 171,000 units, a 22% YoY increase. This growth was driven by the reduction in GST rates and strong product performance. However, revenues for Q3 FY26 were up 24% YoY at ₹15,300 crore while EBITDA margins were at 7%, down by 80 bps YoY. The EBIT margins stood at 1.2%, a decline of 50 bps YoY due to adverse realizations, commodities, fixed costs among other factors.