Bridgestone net income up 39% in H1

Operating income and net income at Bridgestone Corporation increased 43 per cent and 39 per cent respectively in the first half of the 2012 fiscal year, the Japanese tyre maker reports. An operating income of 133.7 billion yen (£1.1 billion) and net income of 75.2 billion yen (£614.8 million) were achieved even though net sales only rose two per cent year-on-year to 1,488.9 billion yen (£12.2 billion) during the first half.

Bridgestone describes the six months to 30 June 2012 as a period of high raw material prices and a strong yen. The domestic Japanese and US economies showed signs of recovery during the half-year, while Europe remained under the influence of the financial crisis and Asian economic expansion, particularly in China, showed signs of a slowdown.

Replacement tyre sales in Japan decreased during the first half for both the consumer and truck segments, while original equipment sales rose. Thus, overall unit sales for passenger car and light truck sales rose strongly year-on-year, while truck tyre unit sales remained the same. In the Americas, unit sales of passenger and light truck tyres remained the same while truck and bus tyre unit sales declined due to a drop in replacement sales. European sales of both car and truck tyres decreased substantially. In the Asia-Pacific region, passenger car and light truck tyre sales increased strongly year-on-year, while in China unit sales remained unchanged. However unit sales of truck and bus tyres decreased substantially due to lower replacement market demand. In the specialty tyre business, unit sales of large and ultra-large OTR tyres for construction and mining vehicles strongly increased year-on-year due to production capacity expansion.

Total tyre segment net sales reached 1,237.5 billion yen (£10.1 billion) during the first half of 2012, a one per cent year-on-year increase. Operating income came to 119.6 billion yen (£977.8 million), a rise of 33 per cent over the first half of 2011.

As a result of the company’s first-half performance, Bridgestone has revised its full-year projections. The company now anticipates net sales of 3,130.0 billion yen (£25.6 billion) in 2012, a three per cent increase on 2011, an operating income of 287.0 billion yen (£2.3 billion), an ordinary income of 269.0 billion yen (£2.2 billion) – both a 50 per cent year-on-year increase – and net income of 172.0 billion yen (£1.4 billion), up 67 per cent on 2011.