Jaguar Land Rover say profits up again, but warns on Eurozone

Jaguar Land Rover profites rose by 7 per cent in the quarter to June end, but JLR warns that Europe’s financial woes will impact growth.

Rising profits at Jaguar Land Rover are like Team GB Gold Medals – we’re starting to expect more every day. And JLR are still delivering.

Profits for Jaguar Land Rover are up by 7 per cent for the quarter to the end of June – compensating for parent company Tata’s weak performance in the same period – at an impressive £236 million. But JLR are warning the seemingly inexorable rise in sales and profits, in particular for Land Rover, may be hard to sustain.

Despite strong performance is emerging markets – China, for example, is 86 per cent up year on year – JLR have made it clear that the huge problems in the Eurozone are likely to undermine JLR’s growth in the future.

Particularly of concern are Europe’s southern countries – Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece – where car sales are down hugely across the all car makers. Ralph Speth, JLR boss, said:

We are a British company, and we have a big market in continental Europe. At this moment no one can predict what is going on in these economies. We are watching these countries very cautiously, and we see that in the very southern hemisphere of Europe in particular there is a real slowdown.

But the hope has to be that strong growth in China and India coupled with sustained growth in Western economies outside Europe’s problems – like the UK and USA – will be sufficient to sustain some growth for JLR.

It may not be roses out there, but JLR are well-placed to sustain their business through the Euro problems.