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Mumbai, Oct. 31 Tata Motors’ second quarter net profit rose by 19.27 per cent to Rs 526.84 crore (Rs 441.72 crore) although it sold fewer cars and reported nearly flat revenues.

The company had a one-time gain of Rs 200 crore from the sale of technology to two subsidiaries and an asset to a group company. This coupled with the lower tax outgo, increase in interest income and the forex gains contributed to the company’s “better than expected results,” said an analyst.

Mr Ravi Kant, Managing Director, Tata Motors, said the high interest rates continue to affect domestic sales. Vehicle financiers are cautious while lending to individual customers. Besides, the rising input costs, mainly the steel price, were putting pressure on margins, he said.

The revenues for the quarter were up marginally to Rs 6,672.65 crore (Rs 6,585.20 crore). The number of vehicles sold, including exports, has come down to 1,36,573 from 1,39,704 on a year-on-year basis. On a consolidated basis, the profit increased by 6.39 per cent to Rs 570.71 crore from Rs 536.44 crore. The consolidated revenue increased to Rs 8,205.23 crore (Rs 7,724.71 crore).

The company improved market share in the medium and heavy trucks, but lost in bus and passenger vehicle segment mainly on account of certain supply chain shortages, which is expected to be made up in the second half. Tata Motor’s shares fell 1.3 per cent to Rs 757.7 on the BSE on Wednesday.

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