Automotive giant Jaguar Land Rovers reports a 6% fall in quarterly revenues to £6.5bn, with profits also down, but describes its performance as ‘resilient’. Tony McDonough reports
Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) saw revenues and profits fall in the three months to September 30 due to supply constraints.
JLR says revenues during what is the second quarter in its fiscal year totalled £6.5bn, 6% down on the same period in 2023. Pre-tax profits for the quarters were £398m, down from £442m a year earlier.
Despite the fall this was an eighth successive profitable quarter for the company which was held back by temporary aluminium supply constraints. Revenue for the half year was flat at £13.7bn but pre-tax profits came in at more than £1bn and 25% ahead of last year.
JLR described this as a “resilient performance” in the quarter which also saw a temporary hold placed on 6,029 vehicles to allow for additional quality control checks.
In October JLR reported global sales of 103,108 vehicles (including the Chery Jaguar Land Rover China JV), down 3% compared to the same quarter a year ago. However, retail sales for the half year were 3% up to 214,288 units.
In late September the automaker announced a £500m investment into its factory in Halewood in Merseyside. This will push Halewood, which employs around 3,500 people, further towards the goal of becoming the company’s first all-electric vehicle plant.
“Looking ahead, both production and wholesale volumes are expected to pick up strongly in the second half of the financial year as the aluminium supply situation normalises, and we will continue our diligent management of costs,” JLR said on Friday.
“For the full year, our guidance is unchanged, with revenue of circa £30bn, EBIT margin ≥8.5% EBIT and achieving a positive net cash position.”