Goodyear Sets Quarterly Sales Mark, Hits $142 Million Profit

(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co reported net income of $142 million, the company’s best quarterly result since the third quarter of 1998 and up substantially from its 2004 third quarter profit of $38 million. The profit came against record quarterly net sales and strong results from its tyre operations, Goodyear said. Goodyear recorded sales of $5 billion for the quarter, up 7 per cent from $4.7 billion during the same period last year. 2004 period. Third quarter tyre unit volume increased to 58.4 million units, up 1.8 per cent from last year.

Goodyear’s North American Tire unit posted sales of $2.37 billion, up 5 per cent from last year, on unit sales of 26.6 million tyres – equal with the third quarter of 2004. Operating income was reported at $58 million, more than double 2004’s $27 million profit.

“This improvement, including a second consecutive $5 billion sales quarter, is further evidence that we are executing to our plan,” said Bob Keegan, Goodyear’s chairman and CEO. “Specifically, we are winning through our strategy of focusing on high margin market segments and bringing higher-margin, differentiated new products to market quickly. Our new-product focus was highlighted during the quarter by the introduction of the Goodyear Fortera featuring TripleTred technology in North America, the Dunlop Wintersport 3D in Europe, and the early European success of the Goodyear UltraGrip 7 winter tyre.”

Goodyear’s third quarter results include an after-tax charge of $8 million for “rationalizations,” a $10 million after-tax charge related to business interruptions caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and after-tax gains of $25 million from the sale of the company’s adhesive resins business, and $14 million from an insurance settlement.