After suffering a loss of 26 billion rupees last year Tata Motors, one of India''s top automobile manufacturers has reported a consolidated net profit of 6.5 billion rupees for the December quarter of 2009.

A net sale of 259.8 billion rupees was registered by Tata Motors for the December quarter.

The profit was boosted by rise in sales and margins at its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unit in London as luxury buyers returned after the global crisis, helping send its shares up more than 6 percent. Jaguar Land Rover turned profitable in the December quarter with a net profit of 4.17 billion rupees.

"Jaguar Land Rover has made a profit. It is quite a substantial profit of 55 million pounds which is equivalent to (rupees) 4,400 crores. It is a big turnaround which has happened as far as Jaguar Land Rover is concerned and we do hope to continue on this path in future," said, Ravi Kant, Jaguar Land Rover Vice-Chairman.

Jaguar Land Rover had been a drag on the company''s performance since it bought it in 2008 from Ford for $2.3 billion (1.5 billion pounds), just as the global downturn hit consumer spending on high-end vehicles such as Jaguar''s X-series and Land Rover''s Range Rovers. (With Input From Agencies)