May 14 (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover is targeting 1.7 billion pound ($2.3 billion) in cost savings over the next two years after its Indian parent posted a sharp drop in profit on Thursday due to U.S. tariffs, weakness in the Chinese market and production disruptions.
Over the past year, the Range Rover manufacturer has contended with challenges ranging from uncertainty around global trade policy to a cyber attack that halted production, and most recently, a fire at one of its suppliers.
For fiscal year 2026, JLR posted a 20.9% drop in revenue to 22.9 billion pounds, while profit before exceptional items stood at 14 million pounds.
JLR's earnings before interest and taxes margin, a closely watched indicator of operational profitability, slid 780 basis points to 0.7% during fiscal 2026.
Its Indian parent, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, posted a profit drop of 31.7% to 57.83 billion rupees ($603.9 million) for the quarter ended March 31.
Britain's largest carmaker accounts for up to 80% of the parent's revenue.
Tata Motors PV said JLR plans to retain its investment spending at 18 billion pound over the five-year period from fiscal 2024.
($1 = 95.7625 Indian rupees)
($1 = 0.7400 pounds)
Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Nivedita Bhattacharjee
Source: Reuters