Annual revenues at carmaker Jaguar Land Rover hit a record £29bn thanks to the highest-ever quarterly revenue in the final three months of its fiscal year. Tony McDonough reports
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has revealed revenues of £29bn for the 12 months to March 31, 2024 – the highest figure in its history and 27% higher than last year.
Revenues during the first three months of 2024, the final quarter of its fiscal year came in at a record £7.9bn – 11% higher than the same period last year.
Pre-tax profits at JLR for the year were £2.2bn (£661m in the final quarter). This is the highest annual figure since 2015.
JLR operates the Halewood factory in Merseyside where more than 3,500 workers assemble the Range Rover, Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. It has pledged a £15bn investment to create a new generation of electric vehicles.
In April the company revealed sustained global demand had driven annual sales 20% higher. JLR said it had seen wholesale volumes of 401,303 and retail sales of 431,733, up 25% and 22% respectively.
Chief executive Adrian Mardell said: “This has been a year of great strategic progress at JLR and I would like to thank our clients, our people, our suppliers and partners for their role in our success.
“We have delivered a record financial performance for the company, generating free cashflow of £2.3bn, enabling us to reduce net debt to £700m.
“The foundation of this performance was the sustained global demand for our modern luxury vehicles, led by our Range Rover and Defender brands, underpinned by a consistent focus on operational improvement.
We are entering the next exciting phase of our Reimagine strategy which will see us bring to life our modern luxury electric vehicles and deliver an accompanying modern luxury experience for our clients.”
Free cash flow for the final quarter was £892m and £2.3bn for the full year, the highest ever full year cash flow. At the end of the quarter, the cash balance was £4.2bn and net debt £700m, with gross debt of £4.9bn.
Total liquidity was £5.7bn, including the £1.5bn undrawn revolving credit facility maturing April 1, 2026.
Its order book stood at around 133,000 vehicles at the end of the financial year, 76% of which were for Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender models. As expected, the order book has gradually reduced over the course of the year.