Ratan Tata years: Profit zoomed 51 times, market capitalization 33 times under his leadership

Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata, who passed away last night at the age of 86, added enough zeros to the salt-to-software conglomerate’s balance sheets for revenues to pole-vault 46 times to Rs 4.75 lakh crore in his 21 years of chairmanship which ended in 2012.

The tycoon took over the reins of the Tata Group in 1991 after his uncle, the legendary JRD Tata, stepped down and named Ratan Tata as his successor. The Ratan Tata years saw the diversified conglomerate transforming itself with ambitious new ventures and international expansion.

The Tata Group’s profit during this period surged 51 times to over Rs 33,500 crore. Unsurprisingly, the firm’s market capitalization also grew 33 times during this time.

The Tata Group remains a favorite among investors on Dalal Street, having added Rs 22,42,391 crore to its market capitalization in the last five years alone—a jump from Rs 10,74,994 crore to Rs 33,17,385 crore.

It was under Ratan Tata’s leadership that TCS went public in 2004, raising around $1.2 billion in what was India’s largest and Asia’s second-largest IPO at the time.

Valued at Rs 15.5 lakh crore, TCS is now India’s second-largest company after Reliance Industries (RIL) and has been one of the biggest wealth creators with a track record of doubling investor money every 5 years on average.Under Tata’s leadership, the group expanded its reach beyond Indian shores, acquiring British tea firm Tetley in 2000 for $432 million and Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in 2007 for $13 billion, which was the biggest takeover of a foreign firm by an Indian company at the time.Tata Motors also acquired British luxury auto brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co in 2008 for $2.3 billion.

His pet projects at Tata Motors included the Indica – the first car model designed and built in India – as well as the Nano, touted as the world’s cheapest car.

“Investors can pay tribute to Ratan Tata and the great corporate empire he built by buying stocks like TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consumer, and Indian Hotels. Ratan Tata, while pursuing the group’s growth, contributed substantially to India’s growth, and millions of ordinary investors gained from the great man’s vision,” said Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

He said investors should learn from the growth of the Tata empire that a long-term investment horizon is required to really participate in the wealth creation that happens through the capital market.

“In a bull market like the present one, there will always be valuation concerns. But great companies like the ones Ratan Tata built will create wealth for investors in the long run,” he said.