Tata Motors drives back into black in with Q2 profit

New JLR products such as the upgraded Land Rover,Range Rover Sports and Discovery 4 were getting a good reception and aggressive cost reduction had also paid off. The business is witnessing some stability in the external environment with certain key markets showing signs of recovery, the company said in a statement. JLR made an operating profit of Rs 352.27 crore in the quarter.

Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata has hired two companies to help cut costs at the JLR unit after the global financial meltdown reduced demand for luxury products. Last week Tata had said that he expects JLR to turn around after a “very difficult” time. Tata Motors is considering fund raising options to reduce its Rs 20,000 crore total debt,of which Jaguar Land Rover accounts for Rs 9000 crore,the company ‘s chief financial officer C Ramakrishnan said.

For the first half of the financial year 2009-10,the company posted a net loss of Rs 307 crore,while it had a net loss of Rs 222.06 crore in the same period previous year. Shares of Tata Motors closed at Rs 629.50 on the BSE,down 0.84 per cent from its previous close.