China sales help JLR to £2.9bn income
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) pulled in £2.9bn in revenue over the last quarter. Parent company Tata Motors said the rise of almost a third came after strong international growth and better product mix.
A statement released by Tata Motors said sales at Warwickshire-based JLR grew 30.3 per cent over the three-month period to 30 September. Sales in China alone soared 87 per cent.
UK sales managed to rise 1 per cent, despite a dip in Jaguar revenue, which was compensated by a rise in Land Rover income.
Pre-tax profits rose 9 per cent to £287m.
JLR sold 130,090 units in the first half of its 2011/12 financial year. This represents 13.8 per cent growth compared to the corresponding 2010 period.
Tata Motors attributed the sales rise to "better product and market mix and strong growth in China and Russia".
Cost pressures and impact of exchange rates resulted in a marginal reduction in the operating margins to 14.9 per cent, Tata Motors confirmed. This equates to a growth of 17.2 per cent compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Last week (10 November) JLR announced it would create 1,000 jobs at its Solihull plant, boosting its workforce by 25 per cent.
