Amtel Expand Profits 64 per cent

Amtel Holdings Holland has announced a 64 per cent increase in profits as part of its consolidated results for the 2003 financial year. The company claims to have a 28 per cent share of the Russian market. It also claims to have 35 per cent share of the passenger car and light truck market.

According to the company, revenue has increased by 19 per cent, from $323 million in 2002 to $383 million in 2003. Gross profit increased by 64 per cent, year-on-year, in 2003 to $46 million. After taxes, net profit totalled $11.5 million. On the 31 December, 2003 company assets were valued at $485 million, with shareholder equity totalling $119.

The company says the increases in sales and gross profit are primarily due to modernisation of production and the launch of a new line of branded tyres, which were produced on “state-of-the-art” manufacturing equipment.

In total, Amtel have four factories. Three of these are situated in Russia and one is based in the Ukraine. In the last financial year the company was involved in upgrading two of the factories.

In May 2003, Amtel completed a new expanded production line at its Kirov 1 plant. When it was completed the newly launched line was said to have a capacity of 2.2 million passenger tyres annually. Between May and December 2003 Amtel manufactured 600,000 Nordman tyres using the new equipment.

Installation of new equipment capable of producing 2.2 million tyres annually was also completed. The work, at Amtel’s Chernozemye 1 plant in Voronezh, had begun in March 2003 before being complete a year later.

In addition, Amtel is finishing the installation of new equipment for its Kirov II project with the capacity of 2.2 million branded passenger car tyres. The new facilities are due to be brought into production in by November this year.

“One of the most significant financial results achieved by Amtel over the last year has been the growth in profitability of operations. Gross profit from sales has increased to 12.84 percent in 2003, up from 9.3 percent in 2002,” said Aleksey Gurin, general director of Amtel Holdings. “The new equipment and technology have made it possible to produce high quality tyres with less weight, which means a significant reduction in the cost of manufacturing,” he added.

In 2004 Amtel is planning to sell more then 2 million high-speed passenger car tyres under the company’s Amtel Planet and Amtel Nordmaster brands, as well as under the Fortio brand for it produces for Bridgestone. In 2005 tyre output under these brands will reach 5 million units.

Construction of the new Chernozemye – II factory began in May of 2004. This plant is designed to manufacture up to 3 million high-speed tyres with 15 and 20-inch rim diameters. These products are intended to replace imported tyres for passenger cars and SUVs. The launch of the new facility is planned for August 2005.

The company says its total passenger car tyre product output will reach 17 million units per year. Of this, 10 million tyres will be manufactured under the Amtel Planet and Amtel Nordmaster brands.