Hankook sales surged 16.3% from Q1 2010 to 1.4 trillion won on European growth

Hankook Tire announced the highest quarterly global sales on record for the first quarter of 2011 with turnover totalling 1.4 trillion Korean won, a 16.3 per cent year-on-year increase. Hankook Tire’s first quarter operating profit for 2011 amounted to 179 billion won. Operating profit to sales ratio was 12.4 per cent, up from 6.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Following the release of the figures on 20 April, Hankook Tire reports that the company saw “significant growth” in the developed markets, particularly Europe. Sales in Europe, the company’s biggest regional market are reported to have jumped 20.9 per cent on the back of improved productivity as well as capacity increase in Hankook’s European plant in Hungary. Sales in North America also climbed 29.1 per cent from the first quarter last year.

Sales figures in the CIS region, Latin America, the Mideast and Asia Pacific regions showed steady growth too. Sales soared 38.4 per cent and 21.8 per cent from last year’s first quarter in Latin America and the Asia Pacific regions respectively. Korea, China, and Hungary operations achieved 18, 19 and 59 per cent increases from quarter one 2010. Notably in China, where Hankook is purportedly the number one tyre brand, the company saw 33.9 per cent year-on-year growth in the replacement tyre market, underlining that the brand is attracting more Chinese consumers.

Strong high performance sales

In addition Hankook Tire’s sales in Ultra High Performance (UHP) tyres continued to see robust growth with 42.5 per cent year-on-year increase. According to the company, in the first quarter of 2011, Hankook Tire’s UHP (Ultra High Performance) tyre sales in the OE (Original Equipment) business shot up with the company’s Korea operation more than doubled the sales of UHP tyres domestic automakers. The firm also sold 58.4 per cent more UHP tyres to overseas automobile brands than last year.

Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire stated: “Hankook Tire continues to see positive performance in the first quarter this year. We believe that Hankook’s competitive product quality has greatly contributed to our sustainable growth during a time when the global business environment was unstable…I expect this is just the start of a dynamic growth in 2011, that would be realized along with our global customers’ satisfaction.”

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, Hankook Tire aims to achieve 6.06 trillion won in annual global sales and expand the company’s brand value through activities such as the popular international touring car racing series DTM.

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