Tata Motors’ Shares Jump 10% On JLR’s Record February Sales In U.S.
JLR’s U.S. sales in February grew 26 percent on a yearly basis.
Shares of Tata Motors Ltd. rose as much as 10 percent on Tuesday, the most in nearly three years, after its luxury arm Jaguar Land Rover clocked best-ever February sales in the U.S.
Tata Motors’ U.S. sales in February grew 26 percent on a yearly basis, the company said in a statement. Luxury sedan Jaguar and SUV Land Rover recorded their best-ever February, with sales growing 59 percent and 19 percent, respectively. That, according to Joe Eberhardt, president and chief executive officer at Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC, was driven by demand for the Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport, Jaguar XE and F-PACE.
A sales rebound in February will come as a relief for Tata Motors that posted biggest-ever quarterly loss by an Indian company in the three months ended December. That was on account of a one-time write-off for JLR because of slower sales in China, technology disruptions and rising cost of debt.
Last week, Bloomberg reported quoting people familiar with the matter that the Tata Group is exploring strategic options, including a stake sale, for its struggling Jaguar Land Rover. The report said that the options range from a minority stake sale to finding a joint venture partner.
Promoters Buying From Open Market
Tata Sons Ltd., the parent of Tata Motors, has also been acquiring shares of the automaker from the open market since the third-quarter earnings. It bought over 1.18 crore shares from the open market for around Rs 183 crore, according to exchange filings. The purchases were made on Feb. 11, 12, 13 and 15 at an average cost of Rs 155 per share. Following this, Tata Sons’ stake in Tata Motors rose by 40 basis points to 34.01 percent, signalling promoter confidence in the business despite the record loss.