Tata Motors profits fall on weak Jaguar Land Rover sales

London: India`s largest carmaker Tata Motors reported a 57 percent fall in quarterly profits Friday, slowed by weak sales of its luxury British unit Jaguar Land Rover and foreign exchange losses.

Consolidated net profit for the three months to the end of August 2016 fell to 22.36 billion rupees ($337.11 million) compared with 52.31 billion rupees a year ago, the Mumbai-based company said in a report.

A Bloomberg poll of 23 analysts had predicted that the manufacturer would report net profits of 25.33 billion rupees for the first quarter ended August.

Tata said in a statement that its profits had fallen due to foreign exchange impact after the Brexit vote. 

"The operating performance in the quarter reflects the overall higher wholesales, offset by adverse foreign exchange impact of 207 million pounds including revaluation of 84 million pounds, mainly euro payables resulting from depreciation in the pound following the Brexit vote," it said.

Tata said in May that a total of 4.78 billion rupees recouped from a massive chemical blast in China`s Tianjin last year that killed 161 people had boosted profits for the company. 

Investors were upbeat ahead of the earnings announcement with shares of Tata Motors, part of sprawling tea-to-steel conglomerate Tata, rising two percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday.

But the Indian markets have remained cautious ahead of a keynote speech by US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.