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Bloomberg
Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) Indian owner reported a pretax profit in three months through March as a recovery in Chinese demand lifted sales of the automaker’s luxury sports cars and SUVs.
Tata Motors Ltd posted fourth-quarter earnings of 57 billion rupees before tax and one-time items, rebounding from a loss of 65 billion rupees a year earlier. Revenue soared 42% and exceeded estimates.
JLR’s improving sales performance is crucial for Mumbai-based Tata as the group’s Indian business is being buffeted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Jaguar Land Rover posted a pretax profit of 534 million pounds in the quarter after selling 12% more vehicles. Purchases in China more than doubled while increasing 10% in North America.
Government-imposed lockdowns have shuttered sales outlets and halted factories’ production lines.
“While demand remains strong, the supply situation over the next few months is likely to be adversely impacted by disruptions from Covid-19 lockdowns in India and semiconductor shortages worldwide,†Tata said in a statement.
The group booked a 1.5 billion-pound ($2.1 billion) charge initially flagged in February related to JLR’s shift to electric models, though its net loss still narrowed.
The division has since been impacted by a global shortage of semiconductors, halting output at its Castle Bromwich and Halewood factories for a limited period. The company said it’s working with suppliers to resolve the issue and reiterated cash-flow and profit-margin targets.
JLR is staging a recovery after wrangling with uncertainty over Brexit and stricter emissions limits in the past few years. Chief Executive Officer Thierry Bollore has outlined plans to cut costs by 2.5 billion pounds and reduce headcount by 2,000 while accelerating an electrification drive.
Tata said its own operations will show a “relatively weak†performance in the current quarter as the Covid-19 outbreak hampers production and commodity prices increase. It expects a gradual improvement later in the year.