Jaguar Land Rover retails, wholesales increase in second quarter; chip shortage still a concern
India Today
JLR's total order book swelled to 2,05,000 by the end of the September quarter, rising by nearly 5,000 from the June quarter-end.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Friday reported a rise of 12% in retails and 4% in wholesales for Q2 FY23 in comparison to the previous quarter. Although the company is still facing supply-side constraints due to semiconductor shortage, it is expecting better performance in the second half of the current fiscal.
The company retailed 88,121 units in the three-month period to September 30. JLR's retail sales were 38% higher in China, 27% higher in North America and 14% higher in overseas markets as against the first quarter. However, they declined by 7% in the UK and 10% in Europe.
The wholesales of JLR stood at 75,307 units in the July-September period (excluding the company's China joint venture). "This improvement was lower than planned, primarily due to a lower than expected supply of specialised chips from one supplier, which could not be readily re-sourced in the quarter. This was mitigated partially by further prioritisation of production to the highest margin products, while new agreements with semiconductor suppliers are expected to enable sales improvements in the second half of the fiscal year," the company said.
With JLR ramping up the production of the new Range Rover and the new Range Rover Sport, their cumulative wholesales improved to 13,537 units in Q2 from 5,790 units in Q1. "This is expected to improve in the second half (of FY23)," the company said.
JLR's total order book swelled to 2,05,000 by the end of the September quarter, rising by nearly 5,000 from the June quarter-end. Of the 2,05,000 orders, over 1,45,000 orders are for three models -- new Range Rover, new Range Rover Sport and Defender -- showcasing the strong demand for them in the market.
The company expects to report unaudited results for the three months ending September 30 in the first half of November. "The company expects free cash flow to be near break-even despite the lower than expected wholesale volumes, based on preliminary cash balances of £3.7 billion. Free cash flow in the second half of the fiscal year is expected to be positive, driven by sequential improvement in wholesale volumes," JLR said.
