Jaguar Land Rover sees £559m third quarter profits on strong demand
STRONG sales in China and Russia have boosted volumes at Jaguar Land Rover by more than a fifth in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Indian owner Tata Motors has said.
Pre-tax profit for the third quarter reached £559m – almost half of what Tata originally paid Ford in 2008 for the entire JLR operation.
During the first nine months of the 2011-12 year, the Midland manufacturer sold 216,412 vehicles, a growth of 21.9% compared to the corresponding period last year.
Sales for the final quarter of 2011 were even more impressive and mirrored those elsewhere. The three-month period saw vehicle sales rise by 36.7% to 86,322, the figure inflated by the overwhelmingly positive customer response to the new Range Rover Evoque.
JLR achieved revenues of £3.746bn – a rise of 40.9% over the £2.658bn in the corresponding quarter last year.
Operating margins for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, stood at 20.1%, with an operating profit (EBITDA) of £752m – a rise of 62.8% over the £462m recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.
Pre-tax profit for the quarter was £559m (2010: £300m), with post-tax profit reaching £440m (2010: £280m).
“The recently launched new products continue to receive positive response. The newly launched Range Rover Evoque, clocked approximately 32,000 wholesale units till December 2011,” said Tata in a Q3 statement.
The period also saw JLR tie up the Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) with a consortium of banks for committed three to five year credit lines of £610m, which has since been upgraded to £710m.
“This will enable Jaguar Land Rover to have access to such funding as and when required and enable optimisation of cash balances, while strengthening the liquidity position,” said Tata.
