Ex-Conti CEO Neumann Takes on VW Role
On December 1 Karl-Thomas Neumann, former chief executive of Continental AG, will start in a new role with Volkswagen. Neumann will take on the newly created role of group chief officer for electric traction, and in this position will report directly to VW CEO Martin Winterkorn. This is not the first time that Neumann, who left Conti in August, has worked with the carmaker – he held various positions within the Volkswagen’s electronics operation between 1999 and 2004.
Continue ReadingBlackRock Takes 5% Share in Nokian
Investment firm BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd. now holds a more than 5 per cent share in Nokian Tyres plc, Tire Review reports. The Finnish tyre maker announced the 9 November transaction, and is required to report when any single shareholder gains a 5 per cent share or greater. According to Nokian, Black Rock now holds a total of 6,270,634 Nokian Tyres’ shares representing 5.02 per cent of company’s 124,848,890 shares and voting rights.
Continue ReadingPirelli Announces Further $100 Million Investment for Brazil, Latin America
Worldwide, Pirelli anticipates its specialised tyre segment to expand a total of 7.5 per cent over the next three years, and growth in Latin America and particularly Brazil is expected to be far stronger. The Italian manufacturer estimates sales of for construction, digging and mining vehicle tyres in these two markets to increase by 25 per cent and 37 per cent respectively, and to accommodate this development the Pirelli Group has announced plans to invest US$100 million in its Latin America specialised tyre operations. Strengthened by this injection of funds, Pirelli intends to recommence the global export of these products from the region as of 2011.
Continue ReadingToyo Sales Drop 25% in H1 FY2009
Toyo Tire & Rubber remained in the red during the first half of the current financial year, recording a net loss of 1,976 million yen (£13.24 million). Sales during the six months to September 30 dropped 25.0 per cent year-on-year to 129,609 million yen (£868.25 million), and operating loss amounted to 1,300 million yen (£8.71 million), compared with an operating income of 1,177 million yen in the first half of the 2008 financial year. The company’s tyre business unit generated 74.0 per cent of the company’s entire sales and posted a first-half net turnover of 96,001 million yen (£643.11 million) – a 21.6 per cent decrease from a year earlier.
Continue ReadingCooper Kenda China Plant Gains ISO 9001 Certification
The Cooper Kenda Tire joint venture factory in Kunshan, China has become the fourth Cooper Tire & Rubber facility to gain ISO 9001 certification. The plant’s ISO 9001:2008 quality management system certification follows last year’s certification of Cooper’s three US manufacturing facilities, Findlay, Ohio, Texarkana, Arkansas, and Tupelo, Mississippi.
Continue ReadingSuperior Industries Reduces Quarterly Loss
Aluminium wheel maker Superior Industries International posted a narrower year-on-year loss in the third quarter due to cost cuts and increased production volumes. In the quarter ending September 30 the company reported a loss of US$12.7 million, or 48 cents a share, compared with a loss of $14.2 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier. Quarterly sales of $111.4 million represented a decline of 32 per cent on the same quarter of 2008.
Continue ReadingTriangle Chairman Issues Green Challenge
Triangle chairman and CEO Ding Yu HuaTriangle Group chairman and CEO Ding Yu Hua brought his message of industry working for a greener earth to the SEMA Show, issuing a challenge to the tyre industry to help the world move from an “industrial civilisation” to an “ecological civilization.” To do that, Ding said, industry need to adopt principles to lessen their impact on the environment and do more to reduce, recycle and reuse materials used in production and the final products themselves.
Continue ReadingPirelli Tyre Performance Helps Company Position in Third Quarter
According to the Pirelli Group, the first nine months of the 2009 fiscal year delivered “positive” operating indicators that are “overall in line with what was set out in the 2009-2011 industrial plan.” The company forecasts that, barring unforeseeable events, it will in the full year 2009 reach the targets identified in the plan presented last February, and due to Pirelli Tyre’s positive performance may even surpass these targets.
Continue ReadingMichelin Establishes Presence in Vietnam
Vietnam Business Finance News has reported the opening of Michelin operations in Vietnam. The website states the French tyre major is establishing a presence within the country in order to take advantage of Vietnam’s rapidly increasing demand for radials.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Posts Loss for “Challenging” First Three Quarters
Bridgestone reports that its operating environment “remained challenging” in the first three quarters of the 2009 fiscal year. The nine months to September 30, it comments, was a time of “weakened consumer spending and declines in private sector capital investment, which counteracted signs of recovery among some exports.” The continuation of recession conditions in Europe and the United States was tempered by some sectors showing signs of stabilisation, however, and a gradual recovery was seen in China. Other regions also began to show slight signs of recovery, the tyre major states.
Continue ReadingNokian Tyres Signs Revolving Credit Facility
Nokian Tyres says it signed a 180 million euro syndicated revolving credit facility for three years with international banks on November 4. The facility, the company reports, will be used for general corporate purposes and to refinance the existing 180 million euro syndicated revolving credit facility signed on April 19, 2005. The Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners are Calyon, Handelsbanken, Nordea, Pohjola Bank, Sampo Bank and SEB. DnB NOR acts as an arranger. Pohjola Bank was the sole coordinator for the facility, Nokian adds.
Continue ReadingConti Names New Saudi Arabia Tyre Sales Partner
On November 4 Continental AG announced the formation of an exclusive partnership covering the sale of its passenger car, light commercial vehicle and truck tyres in Saudi Arabia. This role will now be handled by Almutlak Trade & Industries. Continental reports its new MENENA business unit will focus upon business in the Near and Middle East and North Africa, a concentration of effort the German tyre major describes as “another logical step in building up a sales network.”
Continue ReadingBankruptcy Court Confirms Hayes Lemmerz Reorganisation Plan
On November 3 Hayes Lemmerz International announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has confirmed the proposed plan of reorganisation filed by the wheel manufacturer in July. Now that the go-ahead has been given, Hayes Lemmerz expresses confidence that the plan will significantly improve its balance sheet and reduce leverage. The company's total consolidated pre-petition funded debt of approximately US$720 million is now expected to shrink to approximately $240 million upon emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Continue ReadingNokian Net Sales Down, But 3Q Ahead of Predictions
Nokian Tyres’ net sales for the first nine months of 2009 totalled 550.8 million euros (down 32.2 per cent on 813.2 million euros in January to September 2008). Meanwhile the company’s operating result amounted to 61.2 million euros in the period. According to the company, sales and operating result improved clearly in the third quarter. July to September operating profit fell 39 per cent compared with 43.7 million euros (£42.492 million; $64.6 million). Reuters reported that this figure beat all of the forecasts in its poll. During the same period, sales fell 28 per cent to 204 million, in line with expectations. Sales and operating margin is said to have improved, compared to previous quarters, due to pre-season deliveries of winter tyres, restocking of heavy tyres by OE customers, production restructuring and reduced raw material cost.
Continue ReadingAnalyst: Conti May Buy Schaeffler Assets, Float Rubber Group
Continental may buy Schaeffler Group’s automotive assets (namely LuK clutches and/or INA bearings) and then float its Rubber Group to pay for it. That’s the view of Klaus Pflum, head of investment bank Nomura's European automotive mergers and acquisitions operations, who made this prediction at the Reuters Auto Summit in Paris. In his view Continental is more likely to opt for an initial public offering (IPO) and this route may raise more money than a divestment and direct sale: "I don't see any banks who are willing to finance a four to five billion euro debt ticket,” Pflum told the conference.
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