Cooper Tire International Ops Up 29% in Record 4Q Results

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has reported net income of $51 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, ended 31 December. Income from continuing operations increased $67 million from a loss of $28 million for the same period last year. The substantial earnings improvement was accompanied by a new record of $765 million in sales for the quarter, a 7 per cent increase over the same period last year. During the quarter, the Company reported a $26.5 million gain on the sale of the operations of the Oliver Rubber Company and explained that it received net cash proceeds of $66 million.

The Company’s International Tire Operations reported sales of $228 million in the quarter, an increase of 29 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2006. The segment’s operating profit improved by $8.6 million to $3.8 million from a fourth quarter loss of $4.8 million the previous year. This increase was said to have been driven by higher unit volumes and pricing. For the total year, operating profit for the segment improved to $29 million, a $19 million increase over the same period last year.

Commenting on the results, Cooper Chairman and CEO Roy Armes said: “We expect our turnaround to continue in 2008. There are always potential risks in raw materials and the general economy, but we are confident we will execute on the areas within our control. We expect continuing raw material price increases in 2008, and believe our price increases in each region will help to mitigate those effects.

“Our International operations will also continue to increase in scale and have the opportunity to begin improving margins. This is the result of the continued ramp up of our recently constructed greenfield joint venture in China and the added capacity in our other Chinese joint venture. I believe we are well-positioned in 2008 to continue our improvement trend and are evolving into an even more customer-focused company through our products and services.”