Dear Shareholders,
It is my honour and privilege to interact with you as the Chairman of the Board at Tata Motors and its British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover.
The automotive industry is going through multiple changes from different dimensions – changing regulatory and environmental standards as well as technological disruptions and the industry is also witnessing increased competition.
From your Company's point of view JLR has posted an excellent performance but the performance of the domestic segment has been a major concern. The commercial vehicle segment has witnessed a continued decline in market share and the passenger car performance has been muted.
Our consolidated net revenues declined by 1.2% to Rs. 269,850 crore for the 12 months to March 31st, 2017 and our consolidated profit before tax for the year fell sharply to Rs. 9,315 crore, compared with Rs. 14,126 crore in the prior year. Our standalone net revenues increased by 3.7% to Rs. 44,477 crore for the 12 months to March 31st, 2017 and our standalone loss before tax for the year fell to Rs. 2,421 crore, compared with Rs. 67 crore in the prior year.
Jaguar Land Rover represents world-class quality, reliability and performance through its exceptional product range. The Company delivered a 9.2% increase in full year revenues to GBP 24.3 billion in the last financial year, and reported pre-tax profits up 3.4% at GBP 1.6 billion.
In the domestic market, the market share in both the Commercial Vehicles and Passenger Vehicles have declined significantly. The market share for CV segment has fallen to 44.4% from a high of 59.4% in FY 2011-12, while market share for PV declined to 5.2% from 13.1% in the same period. Overall, delays in new product launches as well as lack of adequate responsiveness to the competitive environment and an unsustainable cost structure have contributed to this performance.
We have to bring a renewed focus and energy to improve our market share, reduce our cost base, streamline our supply chain and ensure timely delivery of new products to market.
In the domestic business segment, business turnaround is the need of the hour and management is working with renewed focus and energy to improve our market share, reduce our cost base, streamline the supply chain and ensure launch of products on time to delight our customers.
I am confident that the series of actions being taken by the management team will succeed and show an improved performance in both the commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle segments in India and deliver better financial results.
I would like to thank our employees as well as our extended partners, including dealers, suppliers and other stakeholders for their hard work and commitment in this critical phase of Tata Motors.
Finally, I thank you for your continued trust, confidence and support.
Best Regards,
N Chandrasekaran
Mumbai, May 23, 2017