Sales record at JLR but squeeze on profits accelerates

Jaguar I-PACE

Jaguar Land Rover’s full-year profits slipped, caused by a worrying fourth-quarter drop.

Pre-tax profits dropped from £1.6bn to £1.5bn, but in the final three months of the year alone profits were down by more than £300m.

Improved sales in China and the USA have offset a significant fall in sales in the UK and Europe according to the latest set of annual results.

Sales of 614,309 vehicles was a company record, which drove a 6% increase in revenue to £25.8bn in the financial year to March 2018.

But sales in the UK fell by 12.8%, and in other European countries by 5.3%. Sales growth of nearly 20% in China and 4.7% in the USA sustained overall growth across Jaguar Landrover’s key markets.

Concerns about Brexit, vehicle taxation and the uncertainty about diesel models have contributed to smaller UK sales.

Prof Ralph Speth, Jaguar Landrover CEO said: “Despite external headwinds, these results reflect the underlying strengths of Jaguar Landrover. Sales have reached a new high. Strong demand in our key overseas markets have off set the challenging conditions in the UK and other parts of Europe.

“As we mark the first ten years of Tata ownership, our focus is on shaping our future and we will continue with over-proportional investment in new vehicles, manufacturing facilities and next-generation automotive technologies in line with our Autonomous , Connected, Electric and Shared strategy.”

Increased sales and a buoyant overseas market will be sustained by increased investment of £4.5 bn in the 2018-19 financial year.

Speth continued: “Looking ahead, we will maintain our investment in products and technologies to provide our customers with the next generation of Jaguars and Land Rovers.

“We are confident in our plans to deliver robust growth and we are driving efficiencies to ensure that growth is sustainable and profitable.”

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