Jaguar Land Rover has posted a pre-tax loss of £455 million in its latest financial year report, laying bare the effects of the semiconductor shortage.
That figure includes a £43m exceptional charge relating to the firm's operations in Russia, where the firm paused sales in March in the wake of the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Revenue for the year was down 7% year-on-year to £18.3 billion as a result of the firm's output being throttled by a lack of the crucial computing chips.
Last year, by contrast, Jaguar Land Rover posted a £662m overall profit, but around £1.5bn in expenses relating to its Reimagine transformation strategy sent it to an overall £861m loss.
Sales volumes for the British manufacturer were down significantly in the year ending 31 March 2022, with wholesales dropping 15% to 294,182 units and retail sales falling by 14% o 376,381 units.
That's despite a late increase in wholesales by 11% in the final quarter, and retail sales dipping just 1% in the same three-month period. This growth, JLR notes, was offset by the end of production of the popular previous-generation Range Rover, limiting revenue growth to just 1%, at £4.8bn for the quarter.
However, the firm notes a dramatic increase in the proportion of electrified vehicle sales - whether pure-electric, plug-in hybrid or mild-hybrid. These accounted for some 66% of its overall sales, up from 51% in 2021.
As of 31 March 2022, JLR has a record 168,000 orders to fulfil, some 46,000 of which are for the new Range Rover and 41,000 for the Land Rover Defender.
Importantly, JLR says Russia and Ukraine – markets in which it is currently not selling vehicles – usually account for around 2.5% of its sales. It says it does source "a relatively small number of parts that are sourced from the affected countries" but "it is too early to say how future commodity supply and pricing could be impacted".
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