The Hindu Business Line reports that faling rubber prices in India led to shares in India’s major tyre makers rising up to five per cent earlier this week. The newspaper stated on 5 December that Apollo Tyres, MRF, JK Tyre and Ceat were amongst those to gain, and MRF stock hit an all-time high of Rs 11,892 (£135.32) on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Apollo Tyres intends to supply its Oragadam factory in India’s Tamil Nadu state with electricity produced in its own plant. The company plans to establish a 15 Megawatt coal-based thermal power plant at the site; the facility will consist of two 7.5 Megawatt units. In a statement, Apollo said the plant will improve overall efficiency and reduce pollution compared with separate power generation and process steam generation.
India’s Economic Times reports that Apollo Tyres has “put on hold its plans of going ahead with the acquisition” of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. Tire Review writes that the newspaper, which first reported about the possible acquisition deal back in October, reported yesterday that “sources with direct knowledge” said the plan was put on ice because Apollo “did not get a favorable response to its qualified institutional placement (QIP) from the institutional investors who were worried about the end-use of the funds.”
The deadlock between the striking workers and management of Apollo Tyres Ltd continues with both the parties not reaching a consensus over the issue of recognition of the new union at the company's plant at Waghodia, Gujurat, India, reports the online site Business Standard.
The strike, now in its tenth day, is likely to intensify further as workers have decided to go on a daily fast followed by a hunger strike. On the other hand, the company management has intimated to the labour commissioner that they are averse to the idea of recognising the union called Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh (BMS) formed at the plant.
Now the dust has settled from the first suggestions that Apollo Tyres was preparing to bid for Cooper Tire, the rumour mill has slowed considerably. There are those that are saying there is no smoke without fire when it comes to the reports published in the Indian and then global press; and there are those that believe it was all a carefully orchestrated publicity manoeuvre. Whatever the truth turns out to be, the interest surrounding this story is a reflection of the facts that the global market is ripe for consolidation and that there are a lot of ambitious tyre companies in and around the top 20 aiming to make it into the top 10.
Cooper Tire has appointed Michael Simon to the post of Vice President – Strategic Marketing and Planning, North America Tire Operations. With a career in the automotive sector that spans nearly three decades, Simon spent 20 years with Goodyear, starting as a new college graduate in 1985, and through a number of increasingly responsible positions. Following Goodyear, Simon joined Eaton Corp. as Director of Sales, Performance Products and Aftermarket Division, where he focused on the $2 billion Automotive Group's non-traditional growth segments.
TyreSafe chairman, Stuart Jackson has commended Cornwall Council Road Safety Team for its tyre safety roadshow in partnership with Devon & Cornwall Police and Steve Andrews Tyres, marking October’s Tyre Safety Month. Cornish shoppers at three of the largest UK supermarkets will have the opportunity to have their tyres checked for free.
Shares in NYSE listed tyre maker Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. gained seven per cent yesterday following the publication of news regarding a potential acquisition by India’s Apollo Tyres. Neither Cooper Tire nor Apollo Tyres has commented on the acquisition reports.
Indian financial daily The Economic Times states that Apollo Tyres is “in the process” of acquiring Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. The publication’s 11 October news is based on “sources with direct knowledge” of the deal; these sources indicated to The Economic Times that the acquisition could be valued at between US$600 and $800 million and give Apollo a majority share. When Tyres & Accessories contacted Apollo Tyres directly in relation to the news, the tyre maker’s Corporate Brands & Relations manager Rohit Sharan said Apollo “would not comment on market speculation.”
On 1 October Apollo Tyres gave word that its Board of Directors has approved the raising of US$150 million through placement of shares to qualified institutional buyers. In a filing to the BSE, Apollo said its board has also approved increasing the investment limit of foreign institutional investors from 30 per cent of the company’s paid up capital to 40 per cent.
The Apollo tyre brand is being repositioned in order to, manufacturer Apollo Tyres shares, move the humble tyre from being a commodity and “grudge purchase” to a lifestyle product. In a handbook outlining its rebranding strategy, Apollo Tyres says its core brand idea centres on two things, namely “go the distance” and “safety.”
Vredestein UK managing director Stuart Jackson also serves as the chairman of TyreSafe, so it is safe to say he is pleased to welcome the safety organisation’s latest member – Vredestein’s parent company Apollo Tyres.
A fire broke out in the mixing department of Apollo Tyres’ Kalamassery on the evening of 2 September. According to a company statement, nobody was injured in the blaze. Fire crews battled the fire for several hours before gaining the upper hand, and machinery and rubber is said to have been destroyed. Apollo says the unit will be out of commission several days. In the meantime, alternative arrangements for supplying mixed compound have been made.
Apollo Vredestein, the company behind the Vredestein tyre brand, says recently announced major investments are in line with its focus on continuous sustainable growth, even in economically challenging times. The investments are to be made over the course of 2013 and the company anticipates production capacity for Vredestein agricultural tyres to be some 50 per cent greater when the project is fully implemented. The decision to invest an undisclosed sum in the agricultural sector was made in response to growing demand within the European agricultural market for Vredestein tyres.
In addition to discussing strategic plans for the coming years, today’s Apollo Tyres annual general meeting saw the release of the company’s approved unaudited results for the first quarter of India’s 2012-13 financial year, the three months to 30 June 2012. During the quarter, net sales rose 12 per cent to Rs 31.65 billion (£367.5 million) and operating profit increased 48 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3.61 billion (£41.9 million). Net profit jumped 79 per cent to Rs 1.38 billion (£16.0 million); Apollo attributes this rise to “a more judicious product and customer mix.”
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