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Tata Sons invested Rs 1 trn in 5 years, 'ready for future': Chandrasekaran
A multi-year strategy for financial and strategic discipline has put the group in a position of strength as it eyes growth in technology, manufacturing and consumer businesses, he said in the conglomerate's annual report for FY25. Tata Sons is the unlisted holding company of the salt-to-software group.
The group's aggregate revenue has increased 1.9 times in five years; net profit jumped 3.6 times, and leverage ratio halved to 0.7x. Return on equity doubled to 17.5 per cent from 8.7 per cent in FY20. 'During this period, Tata Sons invested Rs 1 trillion in group companies, while the companies themselves undertook capital expenditure and investments of over Rs 4.5 trillion.'
'It is my deep conviction that we must be fit to perform. Some decisions that might have appeared ideal when they were taken may have aged poorly with time and changing economic conditions. As a result, our mantra in the last few years was 'fitness first, velocity next'. I am proud to share that the Tata Group is fit and ready for the future,' said Chandrasekaran.
'The transformation sets the stage for the group's next phase of growth across core areas such as semiconductors, batteries, renewables and digital services.
'At Tata Electronics, we are building a vertically integrated ecosystem for technology hardware and semiconductor manufacturing,' said Chandrasekaran, referring to the electronics manufacturing and semiconductors company. Tata Electronics employs over 65,000 people —70 per cent of whom are women — and posted annual revenue of Rs 66,000 crore in FY25. 'In the capital-intensive world of technology hardware, I am told this is a good start,' he said.
Among Tata Sons' unlisted subsidiaries, Air India reported revenue of Rs 78,636 crore and net loss of Rs 10,859 crore in FY25. Tata Digital reported a revenue of Rs 32,188 crore and a net loss of Rs 4,600 crore. The company's insurance joint ventures ended the year with profits.
Agratas, the group's battery company, is setting up 60 GWh of capacity in India and the UK. The company has research and development facilities in Bengaluru and Oxford – their work is crucial as electric vehicles (EV) worldwide accounted for around 864 GWh of battery capacity in 2024.
Tata Power has quadrupled its renewables capacity in eight years and leads in solar rooftop installations. It has built 6,700 EV charging stations across India.
'Our mobile infrastructure business [Tata Communications] is now among only six global, end-to-end mobile wireless technology providers,' Chandrasekaran said, adding the company has developed an indigenous mobile network stack over the past three years.
Consumer brands like Trent, Indian Hotels, Tata Consumer Products, and Tata Digital are seeing 'rapid growth'. NeuPass, the group's loyalty platform, has 140 million members. Tata Capital, a financial services company that is preparing for an initial public offering, is adding a new branch every day.
Chandrasekaran outlined the group's ambitions in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). 'Together with TCS, startups and other ecosystem players, we will do whatever it takes to make India ready for the GenAI era,' he said, referring to IT services company Tata Consultancy Services. Work for this purpose includes building data centres, upskilling talent, and delivering AI-powered solutions.
The group has begun work to develop and manufacture 28nm node semiconductors. 'We will need to build from this foundation and move steadily towards where the cutting edge of chip manufacturing is today,' he said, noting that this will require 'several years of serious work.'
While pursuing growth, the group remains focused on sustainable returns. 'Capacity creation must come with steady and guaranteed offtake,' said Chandrasekaran, referring to group consumer businesses.
'The challenge and opportunity of AI looms,' he said, recalling how TCS and the Indian IT industry drove expansion in engineering education, which fuelled India's rise as a global technology exporter. 'That training infrastructure was the foundation of our pivots as the prevailing themes in technology changed.'
Chandra said beyond the numbers lies a story of fundamental change in the way the Tata group works. 'With the One Tata philosophy, we have brought the best of group synergies into reality. I am proud to say that multiple Tata group companies have worked together on several marquee projects such as the launch of our first electric vehicle, the construction of the new Indian parliament building or the creation and rollout of an entirely indigenous mobile telecom stack (4G/5G),' he said.
'Looking at the group today, we see multiple clusters of deep expertise. These clusters, presented on following pages, reveal that behind the diverse spread of businesses that populate the Tata Group, lies a deliberate choice of the industries we have chosen to focus and win.'
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