Jaguar Land Rover makes first profits since the pandemic but remains in the red for year-to-date

Jaguar Land Rover has announced its first profits since before the pandemic in a promising set of Q3 results.

The outfit made an impressive £265m in the Christmas trading quarter, representing a huge turnaround from the £9m loss it made over the same period in 2021.

The news marks a significant moment for JLR, which has been dogged by financial and supply chain issues since the first outbreaks of Covid.

The firm lost a whopping £542m in in the first half of its current financial and remains in the red for the period as a whole.

The Times reports that the company currently has a backlog of around 215,000 vehicles, consisting largely of orders for the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Defender.

In its most recent quarter, it was able to deliver 80,000 cars to its dealer network in a sign that parts issues may be starting to ease.

The figure is 15 per cent higher than 2021 and JLR’s best quarterly performance since the start of the pandemic.

For the first three quarters of the year, the company’s wholesale volumes stand at 225,000.

Adrian Mardell, JLR’s interim chief executive, said: ‘JLR has returned to profit as chip shortages eased in the quarter and production and wholesales increased,.

‘We remain committed to our reimagine strategy, which will transform Jaguar Land Rover into an all-electric modern luxury business.’

The firm is currently without a permanent CEO after former post holder Thierry Bollore sensationally quit for ‘personal reasons’ last November.

Ballore’s time in charge of JLR was blighted by the supply chain issues that dogged carmakers all over the world.

The issue has led to some catastrophic losses, including £524m in the first quarter of 2023 and £455m for the last financial year.

In response to issues, bosses made the decision to cut output at UK factories to prioritise profitable Range Rovers, which are built in Slovakia.