Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth has said the firm’s turnaround programme is firmly on track after it returned to profit in the latest financial quarter.
Hit by falling sales, the British firm posted a £395 million loss between April and June of this year. But it turned that around in the quarter running from July to September, recording a £156m pre-tax profit – a £246m year-on-year improvement.
The improved results were driven by Jaguar Land Rover’s revenues rising to £6.1 billion, an 8.0% year-on-year increase. Although retail sales dipped by 0.7%, the firm boosted its performance in China, where sales grew 24.3%.
The arrival of the new Range Rover Evoque also helped, with sales of that model up 54.6% compared with the same quarter a year ago. Range Rover Sport sales rose 17.5% over the same period.
Jaguar Land Rover has been undergoing a massive £2.5 billion cost-cutting and restructuring programme, named Project Charge, and Speth said the improved results reflected the success of those efforts. The firm has already achieved £2.2bn in efficiency savings and is on track to reach its goals by the end of March 2020. It has also invested in new facilities, such as the recently opened Product Creation Centre.
“Our people have responded very positively to the challenging circumstances over the past year,” said Speth. “The improved performance this quarter reflects their ongoing passion and determination.”
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