BL 'is well placed'
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BRITISH LEYLAND has announced its half-year financial results and, as expected, Land Rover-Leyland achieved a substantial turnaround in its trading performance, writes Tim Cobb.
of 1981 to Ulm this year.
Overall results of British Leyland showed a loss before tax of £106.5m for the six months to July 3, 1982, compared with E190.1m for the same period last year. Loss after tax rose to E110.2m (El 92.6m).
UK sales amounted to £788m (E752m), while direct exports from the UK came to £454m (E414m).
Executive vice-chairman, David Andrews said the im proved performance for Land Rover-Leyland had been achieved "despite some of the most difficult trading conditions we have ever faced around the world and across all product lines".
Mr Andrews pointed out that the company's proven capabili ties at business management meant that it could "ride out the recession and be well placed to take advantage of any upturn in world trade."
The market fell to a 30-year low in 1981 and has shown only marginal improvement in 1982. The long-term effects of the strike back in January are still being felt, and BL's share of the truck market fell by three percentage points to 13 per cent.
Another contributory factor in the percentage drop was the runout of the obsolete EA and FG light vans and trucks. These two products accounted for about two per cent of the market share in recent years, Some improvement in share could be looked forward to, Mr Andrews pointed out, as the new T45 range is restored to full availability.
Sales revenue of the Freight Rover Sherpa range is up by almost a third. Twenty per cent more Sherpas were sold in the UK in the first half of 1982, compared with the same period in 1981, and BL's closer attention to the customers' needs won it the British Telecom order for 2,500 Sherpa chassis. trade profitably, but at an unacceptably low rate of return. The recession is having quite an impact on sales volumes and puts continuing pressure on margins.
Freight Rover's substantial recovery in UK sales has contributed to a large reduction in the company's losses.
And what of the future? A new range of lorry diesel engines jointly produced by Leyland and Cummins (CM September 18) can be looked forward to, as well as new and improved Range Rover and Land-Rover models, and more derivatives of the new Sherpa. A completely new luxury coach is soon to be launched , to try to further improve trading results.
Although Leyland Buses fell in numbers, the new Tiger luxury coach chassis continues to improve its share of the market. Leyland buses and coaches remain clear market leaders in the UK.