Michelin Updates Analyst Consensus
Michelin's Investor Relations Department has updated its company consensus. The figures presented in the consensus are based upon data published by financial analysts who monitor the Michelin share, or directly collected from them. The average of the analysts’ responses anticipate full-year 2010 net sales of 16,772 million euros, increasing to 17,979 million in 2011 and 18,832 million euros in 2012. The analysts’ average figure for operating income and operating margin in 2010 is 1,138 million euros and 6.8 per cent respectively. For 2011 these figures are 1,436 million euros and 8.1 per cent, and 1,696 and 9.0 per cent for 2012. The average estimate for net income this year is pegged at 637 million, while in 2011 and 2012 net income is expected to rise to 870 million and 1,041 million respectively.
Continue ReadingHankook Inaugurates Global Education Facility
Hankook Tire has established a Global Education Center in Korea, a facility it says is intended to “collaborate and foster the company's production system.” Located within the tyre maker’s Daejeon plant, the new centre is intended to enhance the skills and abilities of staff working in production and other positions at factories in Korea, China, Hungary, as well as in plants Hankook intends to set up in the future. Through the Global Education Center, Hankook Tire expects to strengthen collaboration between members of its global production network, thereby ensuring production quality is of a unified standard.
Continue ReadingEvonik Establishes Independent Carbon Black Company
A reorganisation of Evonik’s carbon black activities has led to the founding of Evonik Carbon Black GmbH as a legally independent management company under the umbrella of Evonik Industries. The new company came into being on July 1 with Jack Clem in the position of CEO and Rainer Wobbe serving as CFO. The company’s operational headquarters is currently located in Frankfurt, Germany, however it will move to the city of Hanau on October 1. Evonik says the existing carbon black product portfolio and customer relationships will not be affected by the spin-off.
Continue ReadingConti Reports Successful Eurobond Placement
Continental AG reports its €750 million euro-denominated bond has been successfully placed with qualified investors in Germany and abroad. With this, says Conti, the company has completed a further step in improving its debt maturity profile. The notes have a term of five years and will be issued by Conti-Gummi Finance B.V. and guaranteed by Continental Aktiengesellschaft and certain company subsidiaries. The coupon will be 8.5 per cent, with interest payable semi-annually in arrears.
Continue ReadingThe Right Information Changes Everything, ASA Tells Michelin
Bibendum, better known as the Michelin Man, can effortlessly wage colossal battles against evil fuel pumps to rescue motorists from high prices – but he appears to have found his kryptonite in the form of the Advertising Standards Authority. Following 15 complaints over its advertised claim that the EnergySaver tyre could save up to 80 litres of fuel, Michelin has accepted the ASA ruling that it must change the wording of its television commercial when wishing to continue with the “right tyre changes everything” campaign.
Continue ReadingYokohama Tire Implements Organisational Changes
The organisational structure at Yokohama Tire Corporation has been altered following Jim MacMaster’s retirement on June 30. President and CEO of Yokohama’s US operation, Takao Oishi, has not named a direct successor for MacMaster, who served as executive vice president and COO. Instead, Dan King, previously vice president of sales and marketing, will now also be responsible for corporate strategy and planning, while Gary Nash has been promoted to vice president, off-the-road (OTR) division and Yukio Kuroda now oversees technical services and product liability.
Continue ReadingToyo one of ‘Thailand’s Best Friends’
The Kingdom of Thailand has named Toyo Tire & Rubber one of ‘Thailand’s Best Friends 2010’ in acknowledgement of its importation of Thai natural rubber. Thailand’s Best Friends 2010 is a project implemented in line with a strategy to maintain and promote close relationships with purchasers and overseas importers of Thai products. The project, run by the country’s Ministry of Commerce, began in 2009.
Continue ReadingShandong Linglong Aims for 20% Export Increase in 2010
Last year Shandong Linglong reportedly exported 12.969 million tyres and earned an export delivery income of RMB 4.139 billion (£403.6 million), an amount said to be more than that earned by any other Chinese manufacturer. At the Reifen 2010 show in Germany, Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. CEO Wang Feng told Tyres & Accessories that the company’s aim for 2010 is to further improve on this already impressive result.
Continue ReadingMatador-Omskshina JV Marks 15th Anniversary
This year Continental Matador Rubber celebrates the 15th anniversary of the ZAO Matador-Omskshina joint venture project, which is based in Omsk in the Russian Federation. The founders, Slovakia’s Matador and Russia’s Omskshina, each contributed a 50 per cent capital share in order to establish a passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre production facility. The joint-venture was officially registered in the Russian Federation on 17 May 1995.
Continue ReadingToyo Announces Death of Carlos Kibata
Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc. has announced the death of its chairman, Carlos (Shozo) Kibata on June 26, 2010, following a brief illness. Kibata, aged 64, had been with the Toyo Tires organisation for more than 41 years and in addition to being chairman was until recently an executive corporate officer of Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., LTD. in Japan.
Continue ReadingDelticom Increases Target EBIT Margin
Online tyre retailer Delticom AG reports a “significant” increase in revenues and earnings during the first half of 2010, and while admitting it may have to face “headwind” from a weakening consumer climate and negative base effects in the upcoming quarters, the company’s management board says it is now confident of achieving a higher level of profitability than initially expected for the full year.
Continue ReadingSchaeffler Preparing For Conti Merger
As of June 28, the Schaeffler Group has consolidated its operational businesses and its share in Continental AG under a corporation called Schaeffler GmbH. This company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, will function as a management holding for the operational businesses of the Schaeffler Group and is wholly owned by the Schaeffler family.
Continue ReadingLanxess Boosting Butyl Rubber Capacity in Belgium
Production capacity at Lanxess’ butyl rubber facility in Zwijndrecht, Belgium is to be expanded by ten per cent to meet growing global demand for butyl and halobutyl synthetic rubber. The company has announced its intention to invest 20 million euros to lift annual capacity by 14,000 tonnes to around 149,000 tonnes, with the required work being mainly undertaken during a scheduled plant turnaround in the third quarter of 2011. The changes necessary to accommodate this higher capacity are anticipated to be in place and completed in the second quarter of 2012, and Lanxess comments the plant will produce a “superior quality” of butyl rubber.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Projects Significantly Improved Financial Result
Bridgestone has revised its financial projections the first half of the 2010 fiscal year and released its projections for the entire fiscal year. Its revised first half net sales figure of 1,360,000 million yen (£10.1 billion) is 1.5 per cent higher than that previously given on May 7 and projected net income, now 37,000 million yen (£275.0 million), is 37 per cent higher than the May 7 projection. The company now anticipated annual net sales of 2,900,000 million yen (£21.5), slightly higher than the 2,597,002 million yen earned in the 2009 financial year. Operating income, however, is projected to increase 58 per cent to 130,000 million yen (£966.3 million), projected ordinary income is 113,000 million yen (£839.9 million) and net income to skyrocket from 1,043 million yen to 77,000 million yen (£572.4 million). Despite rising raw material costs, the company still anticipates that operating income, ordinary income and net income will exceed the prior year’s results primarily due to increased tyre unit sales and a corresponding improvement in cost per unit due to increased production levels.
Continue ReadingApollo Does “Good Business” with Vredestein – Purchase Price Revealed
It is not just Apollo Vredestein CEO Rob Oudshoorn that considers Apollo Tyres’ acquisition of the Dutch tyre maker to have been “good business”.
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