New York: Tata Motors Ltd, the Indian
owner of Jaguar Land Rover, is hopeful of turning around the
unprofitable luxury unit as it cuts costs to battle a slump in
sales during the global recession.
"Our main issue would be to sustain ourselves through
this and continue to try to do what we’ve been doing the last
several months," Chairman Ratan Tata said in Washington late
yesterday. "It’s been a very difficult time." He didn't
elaborate.
Tata Motors hired KPMG International and Roland Berger
Strategy Consultants to reduce costs at the luxury unit, which
it bought for USD 2.5 billion last year from Ford Motor Co.
Falling sales at Jaguar Land Rover pushed India’s biggest
truckmaker to its first consolidated annual loss in at
least seven years in the year ended in March.
Jaguar Land Rover had a loss before interest, tax and
exceptional items of Rs 873 crore (USD 189 million) in the
quarter ended June, according to the latest earnings
report from Tata Motors.
The British luxury-car maker said in September it may
close one of two factories in England’s West Midlands and add
jobs at a third elsewhere as it seeks to return to profit.
JLR received as much as USD 286 million as a five-year
working capital facility from General Electric Co's GE Capital
division, the lender said. Tata Motors also raised USD 750
million last month by selling securities, enabling it to
refinance debt taken to purchase Jaguar Land Rover.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 19:00