12:23 pm, October 31, 2018
JAGUAR Land Rover today reported a pre-tax loss of £90 million for the second quarter of 2018 – down £475 million year-on-year.
In the three-month period ending September 30, retail sales fell by 13.2 per cent to 129,887 vehicles compared with the same quarter in 2017.
The UK manufacturer also reported that revenues were down by 10.9 per cent year-on-year to £5.6bn compared with £6.3bn in the second quarter of 2017.
Pressures across the globe have seen JLR make production cuts in October, with its Solihull plant currently closed for two weeks and the Jaguar line at Ford’s Bridgend factory halted for five days this week. Its Castle Bromwich plant, meanwhile, is on a three-day week until Christmas.
Sales were hit as a direct result of reduced demand in China and uncertainty around import duty in the US. Confusion surrounding Brexit has also had an impact on the company.
However, the brand has put in place new initiatives with the aim of clawing back a £2.5bn cashflow improvement over the next 18 months.
Chief executive Ralf Speth said: ‘In the latest quarterly period, we continued to see more challenging market conditions. Our results were undermined by slowing demand in China, along with continued uncertainty in Europe over diesel, Brexit and the WLTP changeover.
‘Given these challenges, Jaguar Land Rover has launched far-reaching programmes to deliver cost and cashflow improvements. Together with our ongoing product offensive and calibrated investment plans, these efforts will lay the foundations for long-term sustainable, profitable growth.’
MORE: Jaguar Land Rover factory shutdown begins after vehicle sales slump
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