A devastating cyber attack has inflicted exceptional costs of £196million on Jaguar Land Rover, the luxury carmaker disclosed in its latest financial results.
The security breach forced the company to halt production across its manufacturing facilities in September, contributing to substantial quarterly losses.
The British automotive giant reported a loss before tax and exceptional items of £485million for the three months ending September 30.
This marks a dramatic reversal from the £398million profit recorded during the same period last year, with the losses made significantly worse due to the cyber incident.
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Total exceptional charges reached £238million for the quarter, with the cyber incident accounting for the majority of these costs.
The remaining £42million relates to voluntary redundancy programme expenses, the car giant shared.
Jaguar Land Rover were devastated by a cyber-attack | REUTERS/JLR/PAThe security breach emerged on September 2 this year when JLR detected the cyber incident and immediately shut down all its global systems as a protective measure.
Manufacturing operations across the company's facilities came to a complete standstill as the firm worked to contain the threat and assess the damage.
The production freeze lasted over a month, with the company unable to build vehicles during this critical period.
Manufacturing operations only resumed on a phased basis starting from October 8, as the company gradually restored its systems and ensured safe operating conditions.
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JLR revealed the impact of the cyber attack on its operating profits
| JLRThe extended downtime severely disrupted JLR's supply chain and delivery schedules. But the company said it moved swiftly to implement a £500million financing solution, enabling qualifying suppliers to receive immediate payment at the point of production scheduling.
The cyber attack's financial devastation extended beyond the immediate exceptional costs. Quarterly revenue plummeted by 24 per cent to £4.9billion, while half-year revenue fell 16 per cent year-on-year to £11.5billion.
Chief Executive Adrian Mardell acknowledged the severity of the disruption while praising the company's recovery efforts.
"The speed of recovery is testament to the resilience and hard work of our colleagues," he stated, expressing gratitude to employees who demonstrated "enormous commitment during this difficult time."
Adrian Mardell became CEO of JLR in November 2022 | PAMr Mardell extended his appreciation to clients, retailers, suppliers and communities connected with JLR for their support throughout the disruption.
He confirmed that manufacturing across all the company's luxury brands has now resumed normal operations.
Despite acknowledging the economic, geopolitical and policy challenges facing the automotive industry, Mr Mardell expressed confidence in JLR's resilience.
The outgoing CEO, who is concluding his 35-year career at the company, described leading JLR as "the greatest honour" of his professional life.