JLR to rev up West Mids with £1bn profit
Jaguar Land Rover's feat of passing the £1bn profit mark has been welcomed by Coventry and Warwickshire's business community. Sales of the vehicles rose by 26 per cent in the last year, a result which Denys Shortt, chairman of the region's LEP, said will "massively benefit the economy and be a boost to supply chain".
In its results for the year ending 31 March, JLR's Indian parent company Tata Motors posted profits of $2.05bn. The Warwickshire-based JLR unit posted net profits of £1.04bn on sales of £9.91bn.
Denys Shortt, chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, said: "This is great news for Jaguar Land Rover and therefore for Coventry and Warwickshire.
"The company is a truly global brand built on the back of extremely good products, which are very well marketed. It has exciting plans, including developing its Research and Development in this area, which will massively benefit the economy and be a boost to supply chain. I hope it continues to flourish."
Sales of JLR vehicles soared by 26 per cent in the past year to 243,621 units.
The company attributed the sales growth to a "better market mix with strong growth in China, continued strong response to product introduction including the all new XJ and Land Rover models and favourable exchange rates".
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is fantastic news – not just for Jaguar Land Rover but for the region and the whole automotive sector.
"It remains a company of key strategic importance to Coventry, Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands – as well as the UK – and its success is to be celebrated.
"The brand is known the world over and is making huge headway in the world’s major emerging markets as well as in more traditional markets. That’s great for UK plc and long may it continue."
JLR posted profits of £32m in its 2010 year-end, and a £281m loss in the first ten months after Tata took over.
Carl-Peter Forster, chief executive of JLR’s parent company Tata Motors, said: "Jaguar Land Rover is now a strong, profitable and innovative competitor in the premium car industry."
Overall, Tata Motors' global vehicle sales, including Jaguar Land Rover, grew 24 per cent last year to 1.08 million vehicles.
