Sumitomo net income up 24.9% in 2012

For the year ended 31 December 2012, Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. recorded net sales of 710.2 billion yen (£4.9 billion), a year-on-year increase of 4.9 per cent. Operating income, at 69.7 billion yen (£481.5 million), was up 29.3 per cent on the 2011 result, while ordinary income of 67.4 billion yen (£465.1 million) represented a 34.9 per cent rise. Net income for 2012 amounted to 35.5 billion yen (£237.9 million), a 24.9 per cent year-on-year increase.

From this total, Sumitomo Rubber’s tyre sales came to 619.4 billion yen (£4.3 billion) during the year, an increase of 4.8 per cent and 87.2 per cent of the company total. Operating income generated from the sale of tyres was 63.1 billion yen (£435.7 million), up 29.2 per cent from 2011.

Projections for the current fiscal year were outlined at a briefing held on 14 February. Sumitomo Rubber said it expected total company tyre production to reach 102.17 units this year, the equivalent of 554,000 tonnes of rubber. This amount represents a growth of around five per cent above 2012 production, which amounted to 97.17 million tyres – the equivalent of 525,000 tonnes of rubber.

Net profit is tipped to increase some 15.7 per cent this year, to 41 billion yen. And during the course of the year the company intends to study each market region and select the optimal location to build a new factory with a daily capacity of at least 15,000 tyres.

Looking further ahead, Sumitomo Rubber has forecasted regional demand in 2020, comparing this with 2011 demand. It projects the greatest growth in demand to take place in India, which it sees increasing 148 per cent between 2011 and 2020. China, Latin America, the ASEAN region and the Middle East are also viewed as strong growth areas, with demand expected to increase in these regions by 73 per cent, 65 per cent, 60 per cent and 58 per cent respectively. Africa and Russia are also seen as good growth prospects, with 41 per cent and 36 per cent increases of demand anticipated. Growth in demand in mature markets is expected to be more modest. European demand is expected to increase 12 per cent between 2011 and 2020, while projected North American growth is 14 per cent. In Australia and the Oceania region a 26 per cent increase in demand is anticipated, while Sumitomo sees demand in its home market declining 10 per cent during the period in question.