Jaguar Land Rover’s strong fourth-quarter performance helped the automaker achieve record profits in its fiscal year ended March 31, providing a bright spot for owner Tata Motors, which saw loses at its car and truck business in India widen. Jaguar Land Rover’s quarterly net profit increased to 449 million pounds (about 552 million euros) from 377 million pounds, it said. For the full year, JLR’s net profit was a record 1.9 billion pounds, up from 1.2 billion pounds during its 2012-2013 business year. Quarterly deliveries gained 8 percent to 124,776 at JLR spurred by demand in China, while the automaker’s full-year sales climbed 16 percent to a record 434,311 vehicles in the 12 months ended March.
Sales of Jaguars and Land Rovers rose 34 percent in China to 103,077 in the fiscal year ended March 31. That was more than JLR sold in North America and Europe over the same period, according to the company’s Web site. JLR expects to start operating a new manufacturing facility in China later this year that will reduce the strain on its plants in Britain and ensure it has the capacity to meet growing demand. By comparison, Tata’s Indian business unit reported a net loss of 8.17 billion rupees (102.6 million euros) in the quarter, compared with a 3.12 billion rupee loss a year earlier.
