JLR sales rise 19% in March quarter

Tata Motors, in an exchange filing attributed the higher sales to “continuation of the gradual improvement in chip and other supply constraints”.

For JLR, the wholesale volumes for the fourth quarter was up 19% on a quarter-on-quarter basis and 24% higher on a year-on-year basis at 94,649 units (excluding the Chery Jaguar Land Rover China joint venture).

Compared to FY2022, wholesale volumes in JLR were higher in all markets led by overseas ones (62%), UK (24%), Europe (22%), China (17%) and North America (2%).

On the other hand, JLR’s retail sales for the March quarter were 102,889 units (including the Chery Jaguar Land Rover China joint venture), up 21% from the prior quarter ending 31 December 2022 and up 30% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Compared to the prior year, retail volumes were higher in all markets led by Europe (+47%), UK (+42%), China (+29%), Overseas (+29%) and North America (+12%) during the fiscal FY2023.

For the full fiscal FY2023, wholesales (excluding the China joint venture) were 321,362, up 9% and retails were 354,662, down 6%.

JLR’s signature SUVs –Range Rover and Range Rover Sport production volumes continued to increase with 32,950 units wholesaled in the quarter, up from 28,000 in December quarter.

JLR’s growing brand “Defender” wholesale volumes increased to 27,513 units as JLR continued to operate a third shift at the Nitra plant, up from 23,816 in the March quarter.

Tata Motors said JLR’s order book remained strong with about 200,000 client orders at March quarter end, which, however, is about 15,000 lower than that at 31 December 2022, reflecting the higher retails this quarter.

“Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender demand remains particularly strong, representing 76% of the order book. JLR expects to report results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 March 2023 in May 2023,” said the filing.

JLR, on a preliminary basis, expects to achieve free cash flows of at least 800 million pounds for the March quarter and over 500 million pounds for the full year.

According to a Thursday announcement by Tata Motors, JLR’s initial estimated cash balance is at over 3.7 billion pounds, with a net debt of around 3 billion pounds.

After a loss-making second quarter, JLR, in the December quarter, achieved positive free cash flow and profitability with supplies improving. JLR’s profit (before tax) in the December quarter was £265 million, up from a loss of £ 9 million a year ago with a positive EBIT margin of 3.7%, up from 1.4% in Q3 of FY2022.

JLR has started enjoying benign cash flows on a sequential basis on the back of increased wholesale volumes coupled with a favourable mix and better pricing.

Shares of Tata Motors ended 2.6% higher at 437.65 apiece on the NSE.