Tata Technologies CEO on Q4 profit, revenue slip, AI & headcount

"We are very pleased with the resilient performance that we demonstrated in the fourth quarter Q4 FY25," Warren Harris, MD & CEO of Tata Technologies, told Business Today. "Despite the economic headwinds prevailing in the manufacturing sector over the last 12 months, we've demonstrated real operational rigour. We've squeezed the appropriate levers from our perspective and managed to improve margins by almost 50 basis points (bps) and net profit by 20 per cent. And, I think the real contributor to that is the joint venture that we've signed with BMW. We don't consolidate the joint venture above the line but we do consolidate our share of profit below it," he stated.

Commenting on the marginal drop in topline, Harris said the softness is related to the macroeconomic issues. "Our customers are looking for certainty in terms of the regulatory framework in and around things like EVs. They're also looking for certainty as far as tariffs are concerned. We are patiently awaiting for things to change," he added.

The Tata Tech CEO mentioned that artificial intelligence (AI) represents a growth opportunity for the company. "We announced a number of deals in the fourth quarter. One of those deals was with a Tier-1 automotive company and we're using the proprietary AI framework. AI will not represent a challenge to the structural integrity of our business but will represent growth," Harris said.

He expects to increase the company's headcount in the financial year 2025-26. "We are still very much committed to growing our headcount. I think because of the softness as far as the market is concerned, our headcount numbers were relatively flat in the fourth quarter. But as soon as we start to see macroeconomic clarity, you'll see us accelerating our headcount. We certainly expect to be a bigger company in terms of employees this time next year," Harris underscored.

"The challenge for us and the challenge for the entire industry is really looking for the clarity that will afford our customers the confidence to invest in the things that we will look to intersect with. So, I think headcount is certainly being impacted by technology and I certainly think that our sector in the future will not be a uh a linear growth sector as far as headcount is concerned. From a Tata Technologies perspective, we are looking to grow headcount in FY26 in a material way," he further stated.

Tata Tech posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 188.87 crore in the fourth quarter ended on March 31, 2025 (Q4 FY25), up 20.12 per cent from Rs 157.24 crore in the year-ago period. During the quarter under review, revenue from operations of the Tata Group firm came at Rs 1,285.65 crore, registering a drop of 1.18 per cent as compared to Rs 1,301.05 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Shares of the company were last seen trading 2.08 per cent higher at Rs 708.