Jaguar Land Rover posted a pre-tax profit of £318 million in the final quarter of 2019, boosted by the popularity of the new Range Rover Evoque, recovering sales in China and the success of a major cost-cutting drive.
The British firm posted revenues of £6.4 billion in the three-month period, up 2.8% year-on-year despite a 2.3% dip in total sales. That slight decline was offset by the popularity of the new Evoque – with sales up 30% year-on-year – and the recently updated Land Rover Discovery Sport. Jaguar Land Rover was also helped by the continued recovery of its sales in China, up 24.3% year-on-year.
The £318 million pre-tax profit compares to operating losses of £273 million in the final quarter of 2018. The firm credited the turnaround, which began when it posted a profit in the previous quarter, to the impact of its Project Charge restructuring programme, which it says has reduced operating costs by £154 million and investment by £200 million. Since the programme began, Jaguar Land Rover says it has achieved £2.9 billion in savings, exceeding the original target of £2.5 billion three months ahead of schedule.
The firm has now launched Project Charge+ as the next phase in the restructuring, with the aim to save a further £1.1 billion of cost and cashflow improvements – bringing the total to £4 billion - by March 2021.
“Our improving financial results and the cost and cashflow achievements of Project Charge will support the next phase of our pipeline of exciting new vehicles and technologies, with a choice of outstanding electrified, petrol and diesel powertrains,” said outgoing CEO Ralf Speth, who will step down from his post in September this year.
The firm is optimistic of further growth in the first quarter of 2020, with the new Land Rover Defender expected to go on sale alongside the facelifted Jaguar F-Type.
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Biased or what?
How is it possible for JLR to turn a profit at the end of 2019 when we've had factory stoppages in anticipation of Brexit, and nobody is buying cars because of Brexit and there's still no agreement about what the trade policy will be and...
It really is so damned frustrating that when a report comes out about overall sales reducing year on year, Autocar and others will wheel out Mike Hawes and his supporters to tell us it's all to do with Brexit, yet when there's some good news, which I assume this article is, Brexit doesn't get a mention. What has Hawes & all the doom and gloom merchants have to say about JLR making a profit? That wasn't supposed to be part of the script pre-election.
The anti-Brexit bias really is unbelievable.
scotty5 wrote:
JLRs recent profits are despite and not because of brexit. The improvement has come from an uplift in sales in China and cost cutting, how could brexit possibly be credited with that?
Feast or famine
Massive investment and up and down sales. They are very dependent on new products but i guess they're all the same in this regard. I think they should fix the selling part. I certainty believe they are attractive cars.
These profits are all Speths
These profits are all Speths fault :-)
TStag wrote:
Profits April to December are £79m - hardly worth shouting about - but admittedly they seem to be on a bit of a roll with (modest) profits in last two quarters
TStag wrote:
Yes they are! It's down to hard work and tough decisions. But you have to ask, and rightfully criticise why we saw the crisis we did and how was it allowed to happen.