Tata Sons annual report: Chairman N Chandra's salary up 20% at Rs 135 cr; aviation biz cuts losses in FY24

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran’s salary saw a 20 percent jump to Rs 135.32 crore in FY24. The total compensation includes Rs 121.5 crore as commission, ranking the 61-year-old among the highest earners in the country.

Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group, recorded a 74 percent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 49,000 crore in fiscal 2023-24, according to the Mumbai-headquartered firm’s 106th annual report released on September 6.

Out of the total profit, the portion attributable to shareholders stood at Rs 34,625 crore, more than double of Rs 16,847.79 crore posted in FY23. The company’s consolidated revenue surged 14.64 percent to Rs 4.76 lakh crore for the reported year, according to the report.

Moreover, the group paid a dividend of Rs 35,000 based on the company’s performance, its highest ever, according to the annual report. In FY23, Rs 17,500 was provided as the dividend for the year.

Significantly, the group’s combined market capitalisation at the end of FY24 stood at Rs 30.37 lakh crore, which was 47 percent higher than the Rs 20.71 lakh crore in the previous financial year.

Tata Sons chief’s salary

In terms of compensation and remuneration, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran’s salary saw a 20 percent jump to Rs 135.32 crore in FY24. The total compensation includes Rs 121.5 crore as commission, ranking the 61-year-old among the highest earners in the country. Chandrasekaran had joined the board in 2016.

Tata Sons’ chief financial officer Saurabh Agrawal took home a compensation of Rs 30.35 crore, out of which Rs 24 crore was paid in commissions.

Growing aviation business

The aviation business, which includes Air India, Vistara, Air India Express and AIX Connect, was one of the major contributors to the growth of the group. The combined losses of this segment reduced to Rs 6,337 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 15,414 crore in the last financial year.

Air India, which was privatised in 2022, recorded its highest consolidated operating revenue at Rs 51,365 crore powered by growth in capacity. The revenue was 24.5 percent higher compared to the last financial year, the report said. Its standalone loss narrowed to Rs 4,444 crore in FY24, while the revenue rose 23 percent to Rs 38,812 crore.

For Vistara brand, which is housed under Tata SIA Airlines, the loss was at Rs 581 crore, narrowing from Rs 1,394 crore in FY23, while the turnover grew to 29 percent to Rs 15,191 crore.

Air India Express and AIX Connect reported losses of Rs 163 crore and Rs 1,149 crore respectively in FY24.

Digital footprint

Tata Digital, which has some of the prominent brands under its belt, including BigBasket, Croma, and Tata Cliq, among others, saw its portfolio’s user base growing to 20.76 million transacting customers, providing an aggregate merchandise value of Rs 37,355 crore, the annual report said.