Tata Loses $521.8 Mil. for Fiscal Year

India’s Tata Motors said Friday that it suffered a loss of 25.05 billion rupees ($521.8 million) after taxes in the past fiscal year as the global meltdown exacted a toll on the auto industry worldwide.

The loss came after a year in which the company recorded a profit of 21.67 billion rupees ($451 million) after taxes, the company said in a statement.

Tata Motors reported a consolidated gross revenue of 741.51 billion rupees ($15.44 billion) in 2008-2009. India’s financial year runs from April 1 to March 31.

“The consolidated financial performance of the company is not comparable to 2007-08 on account of the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover in June 2008,” it said.

The company said Jaguar Land Rover made a profit in 2007 and continued to do so in the first half of 2008.

But as the global meltdown caused vehicle financing and demand to dry up, Land Rover sales “fell considerably,” the statement said. Jaguar, however, fared better with the launch of its XF sedan.

The company has taken several urgent and long term measures, including cutting costs drastically and working to align production with demand and control cash flows.

In May, the company said it had spent 78.1 billion rupees ($1.7 billion) to fund the acquisition from Ford Motor Co.

6/26/2009 8:30 AM NEW DELHI (AP)