Jaguar Land Rover PLC more than doubled net profit in the latest quarter riding on steady sales of its luxury sports cars and sport-utility vehicle. Retails in the quarter increased 22% year on year to 115,596 vehicles.
Car giant Ford had sold its luxury UK-based car brands Jaguar and Land Rover to Indian company Tata, amid doubts that Tata is stepping into a quagmire. Tata, India’s biggest vehicle maker, paid £1.13bn for the British brands after months of negotiations over price and supply relationships. Although Land Rover remains profitable, Ford has never managed to make money from its investment in Jaguar.
The price tag was about half the amount Ford originally paid for the marques, leading some analysts to argue that the purchase was a mistake, the BBC reported then.
The take over by Indian automobile maker changed the fortunes of the company and helped to retain the workforce in the company, which employed 16,000 staff at UK plants in the West Midlands and Merseyside. The strong sales volumes resulted in revenues of £5,353m for the quarter. Profit before tax increased to £924m for the quarter, reflecting the growth in volumes and revenue with strong product and geographic mix.
This reflects solid global demand for the new and refreshed Jaguar and Land Rover line up, particularly for the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque and the Jaguar F-Type.
Jaguar Land Rover continued to benefit from surging demand for luxury cars and SUVs in North America, as well as in China and other emerging markets. The automobile giant plans capital spending of £3.5 billion to £3.7 billion for the fiscal year through March. It is also working onthe release of a new sports version of its Land Rover SUV, a new Jaguar XE sedan and new engines.