British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover again drove to the rescue of Indian parent Tata Motors in the first quarter with a £150m dividend and a rise in profit, despite slowing sales growth in largest market China.
JLR’s dividend helped its Indian parent avoid a loss on its standalone balance sheet, but even a return to profit growth after two quarters of decline failed to fully offset Tata’s crashing sales in its home market that dragged down the overall group’s after-tax profit by nearly a quarter. The British company, whose success has led a reinvigoration of the UK car industry, said new Range Rover models would help it hit a sales target of 100,000 vehicles in China this year, up from about 77,000 last year, despite selling only 20,000 cars in the first three months.
“Overall I feel quite positive about the growth, even if the percentage isn’t as big as we might have seen in prior years,” said Kenneth Gregor, chief financial officer. “There’s a natural ebb . . . that will undoubtedly flow in the coming quarters.”