Tata Motors, one of India's leading commercial vehicles and passenger car makers, said Tuesday its net profit in the quarter ended March 31, 2005 rose 33 percent over a year ago period.

The company, an arm of diversified business conglomerate Tata Group, said the profit in the January-March period touched Rs.3.88 billion ($89 million) as compared to Rs.2.92 billion in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Total revenues of Tata Motors in the last quarter posted a growth of 29 percent to Rs.53.38 billion, up from Rs.41.43 billion registered in the quarter ended March 31, 2004.         

The company said its operating margins witnessed significant pressure due to an "unprecedented increase" in material costs like steel and other commodities.

In the fiscal year 2004-05, Tata Motors' profit grew by a healthy 53 percent over the previous year to Rs.12.37 billion. Revenues of the company in the last fiscal year posted a growth of 32 percent at Rs.174.19 billion.

The company sold 120,410 vehicles in the January-March quarterly period, registering a growth of 24 percent over 97,358 units logged in the year-ago period, show financial data released here.

While sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market jumped 16 percent to 55,132 units, car sales at 54,080 recorded a growth of 26 percent in the quarter ended March 31, 2005.

Tata Motors, India's largest truck and bus maker with a market share of over 60 percent, expanded into passenger cars in the late 1990s.

Besides the popular hatchback Indica, the company makes sedan Indigo and its estate version Indigo Marina as well as multi-utility vehicles like Safari and Sumo Victa.
     
Tata Motors' exports for the fiscal year 2004-05 posted an impressive growth of 38 percent at 30,497, up from 22,046 units sold overseas in the previous fiscal year.

--Indo-Asian News Service