Currently reading: JLR posts best profit since 2015 as Defender, Range Rover sales soar

Firm generated a record £29 billion in revenue last year, selling more than 400,000 cars

JLR had its most profitable year since 2015 last year off the back of soaring sales for the high-margin Defender and Range Rover model lines. 

The firm generated £2.2 billion in profit from a record £29bn in revenues in the 12 months to 31 March 2024. The company's operating margin was 9.2% - a full 2.7 percentage points higher than the previous financial year, which it attributes to increased sales volumes and reduced material costs - though it said this growth was partially offset by a ramp-up in marketing spend.  

The company sold 401,303 cars in the full financial year, of which more than a quarter were Defenders. The two Range Rover models accounted for nearly 130,000 sales, too.  

The firm still faces a towering order book of 133,000 vehicles - 76% of which are for the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport or Defender, and says it will "focus on brand activation to maintain the order book" going forward.

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