JLR parent Tata Motors flags margin pressure from rising commodity costs

* Commodity price volatility expected to persist

* JLR targets $2.3 billion cost savings ​over two ⁠years

* Focus on more premium product mix to ​protect margins

* Q4 profit down 31.7% (Writes through with comments from CEOs)

May 14 (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover parent ​Tata ‌Motors Passenger Vehicles warned that rising commodity costs, exacerbated by the Iran war, will pressure margins across its lines, prompting cost cutting and ⁠a focus on more profitable high-end vehicles.

The conflict has disrupted global ⁠trade routes and energy markets, driving up prices ​of key inputs such as metals, petrochemicals and freight, and has pressedsome companies to pass higher costs onto customers as price increases.

"This is very tough situation for us," Managing Director and CEO Shailesh Chandra told reporters after the company ​reported a drop ‌in quarterly profit on Thursday.

The company has already raised prices once, with a hike effective April 1. Chandra said it would consider further increases if cost pressures persist.

Commodity prices had risen by about 5% over the past 9 to 12 months and were expected to remain volatile, he said.

He expected India's car sales to ​grow by 10% in the current fiscal year, and for Tata to outperform the industry, even as sharp increases in ‌petrol and diesel prices threatened to weigh on the entry-level segment.

Last month, rival Maruti Suzuki India also warned of a potential impact on demand for price-sensitive ‌entry-level cars if petrol prices rise. India has so far not increased fuel prices.

JLR, which contributes about 80% of Tata's revenue, is also working on reducing costs and launching more premium cars to protect itsmargins from the war's impact.

"Oil ​is already at $100 plus and therefore the costs have started seeping through. Commodities inflation is likely to be sticky," JLR CEO PB Balaji ‌told reporters on a separate post-earnings call.

"We have a task at our end to ensure that we make the business more resilient."

The Range Rover manufacturer said JLR was targeting $2.3 billion in cost savings over the next two years ⁠as it navigated a ⁠year with challenges ranging from uncertainty around global trade policy to a ‌cyberattack that halted production, and most recently, a fire at one of its suppliers.

It plans to maintain its 18-billion-pound investment outlay over the five-year ​period from fiscal 2024.

Tata ​Motors Passenger Vehicles posted a profit drop of 31.7% to 57.83 billion rupees ($603.9 ‌million) for the quarter ended March 31.

JLR's earnings before interest and taxes margin, a closely watched indicator of operational profitability, slid 780 basis points to 0.7% during fiscal 2026. ($1 = 95.7625 Indian rupees) ($1 = 0.7400 pounds) (Reporting by Aditi Shah, Kashish Tandon and Chandini Monnappa; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Andrew Heavens)