NEW DELHI -- Tata Motors Ltd., India's largest automobile manufacturer, said Tuesday its profit rose about 23.6 percent in its first fiscal quarter from a year ago on higher revenue.
Tata's profit rose to 4.7 billion rupees ($115 million) in the April-June period from 3.8 billion rupees a year ago. Revenue rose 5.3 percent to 60.1 billion rupees ($1.5 billion).
Tata sells cars, buses, trucks and utility vehicles in Africa, the Middle East, and in Asia and Australia.
Unit sales totaled 128,095 vehicles in the quarter, up just 1 percent from a year.
The company said demand in India that accounts for 90 percent of total sales was weak because of an increase in interest rates.
Analysts said Tata Motors managed to keep sales volumes from dropping because of robust demand for some of its utility vehicles. Car and truck sales declined during the quarter, however.
The earnings numbers released Tuesday conform to Indian accounting standards. The company, which is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange, did not immediately release numbers that meet U.S. accounting standards.
Tata Motors is part of the Tata group, one of India's leading business conglomerates with interests spanning steel, software services, hotels, chemicals, insurance and asset management, among others.
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