Focus on speed, supply chain, sustainability, says Tata Chairman N Chandrasekaran

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has told group chief executives to focus on speed, supply chain and sustainability to drive growth. He said all operating Tata companies are well-capitalised and should direct their energies to capture growth opportunities in their sectors and build a circular economy for reducing waste and increasing efficiency, besides lowering raw material dependence on markets outside India.

As many as 400 Tata group CEOs and CXOs congregated in Goa last month as part of its annual offsite meeting, said top executives at the $270-billion conglomerate. Group unit Trent's chairman, Noel Tata, also attended with his children Neville, Maya and Leah, who work in various group companies.

Chandrasekaran directed group companies to focus on tapping opportunities and increasing the pace of growth.


Strong balance sheets
Structures have been simplified at the portfolio and operating company level. Businesses have exited non-core areas and reduced the number of markets or marginal areas in which they operate.

A few years ago, the Tata Sons chairman had told the group to focus on simplifying, synergising and scaling businesses.

In Goa, Chandrasekaran told executives that the group has strengthened balance sheets and built healthy cash flows, and should now focus on chasing growth and scale. He also encouraged executives to use artificial intelligence (AI) as a business enabler and not see it as a threat.

Tata Sons did not comment.

The group offsite enabled executives across companies to interact directly with the Tata Sons chairman and share ideas, officials said. Each company nominated 40-50 employees to attend the meet.

Upbeat numbers
Tata group companies have done well in FY23 - 17 of the 28 listed firms reported year-on-year revenue growth between 11% and 90%. Indian Hotels bounced back from Covid-19's impact, posting a net profit of Rs 1,003 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 248 crore in FY22. Revenue surged 90% to Rs 5,810 crore.

Retail chain Trent posted a 10-fold jump in net profit to Rs 394 crore and an 80% jump in revenue to Rs 8,242 crore.

Titan reported a strong show in FY23 across all divisions on a marginally favourable base. The company reported profit growth of 49% to Rs 3,274 crore and a 32% rise in revenue to Rs 40,575 crore.

Tata Steel Long Products, Tata Chemicals and Tata Power posted revenue growth of over 30% in FY23.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported lower-than-expected growth in FY23 amid uncertainty in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment over the near term in the North American market. India's biggest IT exporter reported a 10% rise in profit to Rs 42,303 crore and 18% revenue growth to Rs 2.25 lakh crore.

However, the group's profit declined 27% to Rs 61,992 crore, mainly because of Tata Steel. Its profit declined 80% from Rs 8,075 crore.

The 28 listed companies held nearly Rs 88,000 crore cash and cash equivalent on March 31, 2023. Eleven of the 28 listed stocks of Tata group outperformed the market in the past year. The group has added nearly Rs 7.62 lakh crore market capitalisation since April 1, 2022.