Tata Technologies CEO Rules Out V-Shaped Recovery After Trade Tensions Dent Q1

Tata Technologies Ltd. is not expecting a V-shaped recovery any time soon after US tariff policies and trade tensions weighed on the June quarter performance, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Warren Harris said.

"We don't anticipate a V-shaped recovery in part because of uncertainty due to trade tensions," Harris told NDTV Profit on Tuesday.

"We were expecting latent demand at the start of the year from customers in the US and Europe. The tariff announcements in April injected uncertainty, and many clients paused or delayed their orders," he said.

Tata Technologies reported a 10% sequential fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 170 crore in the first quarter of the financial year 2025. Analysts' consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg projected a net profit of Rs 157 crore.

The operating margin contracted to 13.6% from 15.8% in the previous quarter.

In early April, Trump imposed sweeping duties of 10% on all imports, plus 50% levies on steel and aluminum, 30% on goods from China, and 25% on imported cars.

The CEO said that business signals from customers, which were initially expected in April, came in by the end of June. It now provides confidence for an improved performance in the September quarter and throughout the second half of the fiscal year, he further added.

He also said that the orderbook at the end of the first quarter was higher than the corresponding period last year.

"We converted six large deals, each worth over $5 million. Despite the slowdown in automotive, the demand continued in aerospace and industrial heavy machinery," he said.