Mumbai, Feb. 14: Tata Motors rode on strong overseas sales of Jaguar Land Rover to post a better-than-expected increase in third quarter consolidated net profit of 40.5 per cent at Rs 3,406 crore compared with Rs 2,424 crore in the year-ago period even as profit after tax from Indian operations for the period under review fell to Rs 174 crore compared with Rs 410 crore a year ago.

The Tata Motors scrip closed nearly 4 per cent higher at Rs 268 on the BSE. Consolidated revenues for the third quarter rose 44 per cent to Rs 45,260 crore compared with Rs 31,442 crore in the three months ended December 31, 2010.

Even as the company faced trying times in its home turf, rising sales of the Jaguar Land Rover in China and the emerging markets such as Russia have helped the automobile company post impressive numbers in the third quarter. According to a statement by Tata Motors on Jaguar Land Rover’s performance, sales in the third quarter of the current fiscal grew 36.7 per cent to 86,332 units “supported by the overwhelming response to the recently launched Range Rover Evoque”.

Profit after tax for the quarter for JLR stood at £440 million against £280 million in the corresponding period of the last year. Revenues of £3,746 million showed an increase of 40.9 per cent over £2,658 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

A majority contributor to the JLR bottomline was profit emanating as a result of the nearly 20 per cent depreciation in the rupee, with over $100 million being gained. “In JLR performance, there has been a positive contribution because (of) the exchange rate...close to about $100 million in this quarter,” Tata Motors chief financial officer C. Ramakrishnan said.

In India, Tata Motors’ standalone revenues grew 18.2 per cent to Rs 13,338 crore compared with Rs 11,280 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s profitability at home was hit by higher marketing spends and overall cost pressures that reduced its operating margins to 6.7 per cent.

Analysts are betting on the performance of the Jaguar Land Rover to boost the company’s numbers in the forthcoming quarter at a time the global automobile industry is passing through trying times. In India, high interest rates and increased fuel prices are expected to dampen sales for automobile makers.

Tata Motor’s Korean subsidiary Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles registered net revenues of Rs 704 crore and a net loss of Rs 1 crore in the third quarter this year.