JLR continues to be strong pillar for Tata, China production kicks off

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) continued its bull run during 2013-14. Revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 of £5.35 billion (Rs 52,861 crore), up 5.9 percent over £ 5.05 billion (Rs 49,727 crore) during the corresponding quarter last year.

Operating profit (EBITDA) stood at £ 920 million (Rs 9,059 crore), up 12.2 percent as compared to £ 820 million (Rs 8,074 crore) during the corresponding quarter last year. Operating margin stood at 17.2 percent, up 100 bps as compared to corresponding quarter last year, reflecting richer product and geographic mix, with increased volumes in emerging markets.
For the year ended March 31, 2014, JLR posted revenues of £ 19.38 billion (Rs 190,834 crore) as compared to £ 15.784 million (Rs 155,386.66 crore) in the corresponding period last year. Profit After Tax stood at £ 1.8 billion (Rs 17,724 crore) as against £ 1.2 billion (Rs 11,816 crore) last year.
To strengthen its market performance, JLR will invest £ 3.5-3.7 billion on R&D and other engineering activities during the current financial year.

China production begins
JLR has started production in its new China plant with the first car under trial production rolling out on May 28. CEO Ralph Speth said the model is China-specific. 

Tata Motors continues to struggle
JLR’s parent, Tata Motors’ standalone financial performance continues to reel under pressure. The revenues for Q4 ended March 31, 2014 stood at Rs 8,545 crore as compared to Rs 11,068 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The company posted a loss of Rs 817 crore against a loss of Rs 312 crore during the same period last year. Tata Motors has attributed the loss to poor economic growth, high inflation, higher fuel prices, reduced availability of finance and high interest rates that affected demand for the entire auto industry in general and in particular, the commercial vehicle segment.

Tata Motors says it hopes economic sentiment will improve during the first half of 2014-15 and that in turn will positively impact the automobile business.

Photograph: Jaguar F-Type convertible with the all-new Range Rover.