Sibur Tyre Production Down 28% in 2009

Production figures released on 27 January show that Sibur’s tyre production fell 28 per cent in 2009 (7602 tonnes, compared with 10,650 tonnes in 2008). The news is set against a 27.3 per cent increase in rubber sales and a three per cent increased in the large group’s petrochemical product output. As a group, Sibur reported consolidated receipts 152.5 billion rubles (£2.550 billion; 2.948 billion euros; $4.116 billion) for 2009, down 12 per cent compared with 173.5 billion rubles (£3.540 billion; 4.092 billion euros; $5.713 billion) in 2008.

Reduced production of rubbers and tyres was said to have been caused by the sharp decline in demand by automotive industry: “Despite [a] sharp decline in demand and shutdown of some capacities, in the beginning of the year we managed to retain the positive production trends and continued financing of our investment projects with insignificant extension of their implementation schedules”, SIBUR President Dmitry Konov said. “We expect to significantly raise our investments as compared to the previous year.”