During the final quarter of its 2017-18 financial year, net sales at Apollo Tyres rose 22 per cent year-on-year to Rs 39.82 billion (£437.3 million). Operating profit increased 33 per cent to Rs 5.59 billion (£61.4 million), while net profit in the three months to 31 March 2018 was up ten per cent to Rs 2.50 billion (£27.5 million).
Apollo Vredestein’s UK office has just appointed Jon Cottrell as the Off-Highway Tyre Specialist for the UK Agricultural & Industrial sectors, to manage that ever-growing side of the marque’s product range.
Jon Cottrell joins Apollo Vredestein UK with immediate effect, bringing with him over 30 years of tyre industry experience, from warehouse to sales management positions.
Apollo has launched the Aspire XP in a total line-up of 52 SKUs, replacing Apollo’s range of Aspire 4G and Apterra HP tyres. The new summer car tyre, which is available now, is being exhibited at the Geneva International Motor Show between 8 and 18 March. The Apollo Aspire XP is manufactured in Europe at the Apollo Vredestein plants in the Netherlands and Hungary.
Apollo Tyres has denied reports published in India’s Economic Times suggesting that it is about to enter the race to acquire Kumho Tire. An Apollo spokesperson told Tyres & Accessories: “Apollo Tyres strongly denies the story headlined ‘Apollo Back in Kumho Race as Geopolitics Sours China Deal’ that appeared in the print edition of The Economic Times on 2 October, 2017.
Apollo Tyres has extended its Premier League football sponsorship, adding Crystal Palace FC to its existing global partnership with Manchester United. As Official Tyre Partner, Apollo will have a significant presence at all the club’s domestic matches.
Two sales appointments at Apollo Vredestein UK will support Apollo Tyres’ recent entry into the European truck and bus tyre market. The newly-created roles of TBR Fleet Sales Engineer have, with immediate effect, been filled by Andrew Beckett and Jane Emson.
Global premium tyremakers continue to lead Tyres & Accessories annual ranking of the leading tyre manufacturers. Owing to the fact that all five of the top five firms have remained stable in their positions, it is difficult to view the chart very differently. Indeed, stability is the order of the day on this year’s table, with 12 of the 20 keep the same positions as last year.
The opening of Apollo Tyres’ Gyöngyöshalász plant, 100km east of Budapest, marks a significant event for both the company’s global aspirations and the Indian tyre industry – the 72 hectare greenfield factory, begun in April 2015, is the first inaugurated by an Indian tyre company to come online outside the domestic market. The importance was reflected in the event itself, with some of the plant’s cavernous warehousing housing around 1,300 guests, among whose number was the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, who declared Apollo’s sixth global tyre manufacturing plant – its second in Europe after the existing Netherlands facility acquired alongside Vredestein – open on 7 April.
ATMA (the Indian Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association) has appointed Satish Sharma, Apollo Tyres Ltd’s president, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA as the body’s next chairman.
Prices for Apollo and Vredestein brand tyres are going up, but not yet. Apollo Vredestein has announced its intention to increase prices by up to eight per cent on 1 May 2017. Exact increases for each product will depend upon structural and exchange rate variations, and the changes will affect the passenger car, light truck, agricultural and industrial tyre segments. The company considers the price increase to be “in line” with the rising cost of raw materials it has experienced in all markets.
With a product portfolio covering high-performance car tyres, comprising summer, winter and all-season options, as well as a comprehensive range of brand new tyres for light commercial vehicles, tyre manufacturer Apollo-Vredestein is now aiming to enter the UK fleet market. T&A understands that the company is spearheading the project with its Vredestein brand, but Apollo branded tyres will also be involved.
A court in the US has sentenced a man to 20 months’ prison for insider trading related to Apollo Tyres’ attempted acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber in 2013. The US District Court in Boston gave Amit Kanodia the custodial sentence and, after finding him guilty of conspiracy and securities fraud last year, ordered him to pay a fine of US$200,000 and forfeit a further $252,500.
Apollo Vredestein GmbH has signed a brand-new sponsorship agreement with Borussia Monchengladbach. The new sponsorship agreement covers the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons and is designed to further enhance global recognition of the Apollo tyre brand. As one of the most popular and successful clubs in German football, Borussia Monchengladbach is very well-known internationally too and its matches are often broadcast live on television around the world.
Apollo Tyres’ Enschede plant in the Netherlands has a 200 tonne per day capacity and currently operates at more than 90 per cent capacity utilisation, and to supplement output within the region the tyre maker is currently erecting a brand new factory in Hungary. During a conference call last week, Gaurav Kumar, chief financial officer at Apollo Tyres Ltd., confirmed that the company has planned a capital expenditure of €200 million for the project during the current financial year (1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).
At its Shareholders’ Meeting on 9 May, Italy’s Benetton Group Srl appointed former Pirelli Tyre COO Francesco Gori the non-executive chairman of its Board of Directors. Gori takes on this role in addition to his positions as non-executive director of Apollo Tyres Ltd, Snam SpA and Messaggerie Italiane SpA, and industrial advisor to Idea Capital Funds SGR (the De Agostini Group).
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