“On our net debt journey, I expect Tata Motors domestic business to become near net-debt zero in FY24 and JLR in the following year,” he said. His remarks come against the backdrop of strong operational performance of all the three business verticals comprising commercial vehicles, domestic passenger and electric vehicles and Jaguar Land Rover delivering on their strategies in FY23.
Tata Motors Group sales rose 23% to 13.36 lakh units in FY23 while its revenues rose to an all-time high ₹3.46 lakh crore (up 24%), EBITDA improved to ₹37,011 crore (up 110 bps) and PAT was ₹2,690 crore. All three core auto businesses turned profitable in the second half of the year. Free cash flow (automotive) for the year stood at ₹7,800 crore improving substantially from a negative ₹9,500 crore recorded in FY22. As a result, the company’s net automotive debt reduced to ₹43,600 crore from ₹48,700 crore in the beginning of FY23.
The India business, he said, returned to profit after navigating all the challenges of FY23 with a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹2,728 crore. Tata Motors’ Board has recommended a final dividend of ₹2 per ordinary share and ₹2.10 per ‘A’ ordinary share of face value of ₹2 each to its shareholders, subject to shareholder’s approval.
The company’s passenger vehicle and EV business continued its robust performance for the third year in succession in FY23. The business registered its highest ever annual sales of around 5,41,000 vehicles in FY23, a growth of 45% over FY22. It became only the third carmaker in India to cross the 5,00,000 annual sales mark.
The CV business witnessed a challenging first half in FY23 and refined its operating model to drive ‘Profitable Growth’. It moved away from ‘supply chain push’ to a ‘demand pull’ model, he noted.
JLR made good progress in its ‘Reimagine’ journey to transform into a modern luxury vehicle business with sustainability at its core. The transformation of Jaguar into an all-electric luxury brand is on track with the first new vehicle expected to be launched in 2024 and customer deliveries starting in 2025. It will also start taking pre-orders for the maiden pure electric Range Rover later this year, he said.