For the fourth consecutive year, Bridgestone Corporation has been selected for inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index Series. Announcing its continued presence within the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment index, the company says it will “continue various initiatives” across the value chain whilst striving to achieve what it set out in the Bridgestone E8 Commitment.
Following an investigation performed by Bridgestone Americas and third-party security advisors, Bridgestone Corporation understands that the “IT security incident” that Bridgestone Americas experienced on 27 February was the result of an “untargeted ransomware attack.”
As of Friday 18 March 2022, Bridgestone Corporation will suspend its manufacturing activities in Russia until further notice. This production stop will take place after “the necessary preparations” are made. The company has also decided to freeze any new investments and suspend all exports to Russia with immediate effect.
Global non-profit CDP, which runs the Supplier Engagement Leader, has once again named Bridgestone Corporation to this world leading environmental disclosure platform. This is the third consecutive year and fifth occasion overall that CDP has included Bridgestone on its the Supplier Engagement Leader with the highest ‘A’ rating in Supplier Engagement Rating.
Today, Bridgestone Corporation launched its Bridgestone E8 Commitment towards 2030. This commitment consists of eight values that start with the letter E – energy, ecology, efficiency, extension, economy, emotion, ease and empowerment. The company says it will commit to these values in order to “realise a sustainable society.”
Bridgestone Corporation has commenced a joint programme with four other parties to develop chemical recycling technologies that can deliver high yields of isoprene from end-of-life tyres (ELTs). Earlier today it also announced the launch of a joint research and development project with one of these entities, Eneos Corporation, to extract raw materials from ELTs using pyrolysis with the aim of further using these materials to make new tyres.
Reporting its results for the 2021 financial year, Bridgestone Corporation confirms that its “global tyre sales grew substantially, especially in the premium segment.” Revenue in the 12 months to 31 December 2021 amounted to 3246.2 billion yen (£20.8 billion), a 20 per cent increase compared with 2020. Adjusted operating profit rose 90 per cent to 394.3 billion yen (£2.5 billion) with a 12.1 per cent margin, while profit attributable to owners of parent came to 394.0 billion yen.
Bridgestone Corporation is expanding production capacity at four of its passenger car tyre plants in Japan. With an investment of approximately 8.2 billion yen (£52.8 million), capacity at the Tochigi, Hikone, Hofu and Tosu facilities will increase by approximately 6,200 tyres per day by the end of 2025, an amount that equals more than ten per cent of current capacity.
In statements published today, Bridgestone Corporation announced the intention to sell its anti-vibration rubber and chemical products solutions businesses. The company expects the respective deals will close by the end of July and end of August 2022.
As part of the global footprint restructuring announced as part of its Mid Term Business Plan (2021-2023), Bridgestone Corporation is shutting one of the two truck tyre plants it currently operates in China. It will close the Bridgestone (Huizhou) Tire Co., Ltd. (BSHZ) facility by the end of 2021, consolidating its manufacturing footprint into the Bridgestone (Shenyang) Tire Co., Ltd. (BSSY) plant.
Another company within Bridgestone Corporation’s Diversified Products business will soon have a new owner. Bridgestone Sport Co., Ltd. (BSP) is selling all its stock in Bridgestone Tecnifibre Co., Ltd. (BSTF), a Thailand-based manufacturer and seller of tennis balls, to Japanese sport equipment company Yonex Co., Ltd. BSP withdrew from the tennis goods business at the end of 2020.
As of 1 December, Bridgestone Corporation has completed selling all shares in its Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. subsidiary. The new owner of the business, which manufactures synthetic rubber for passenger car tyres, is Taiwan’s LCY Chemical Corporation. Bridgestone announced the planned sale on 15 June 2021.
Bridgestone Corporation has announced plans to close three of its non-tyre production facilities. The Shikoku, Gifu and Gotemba plants in Japan, operated by Bridgestone Diversified Chemical Products, will respectively close in Q3 2022, Q1 2023 and Q2 2023, with their output taken up by the business’s remaining six facilities. Bridgestone expects that the 83 employees at the three plants will continue working for Bridgestone Diversified Chemical Products.
Bridgestone Corporation reports revenues of 833.0 billion yen (£5.4 billion) in Q3 2021, a 12 per cent increase on the third quarter result a year earlier. Adjusted operating profit is up 54 per cent, to 101.7 billion yen (£644.4 million), with the margin increasing 3.3 percentage points, to 12.2 per cent. Profit attributable to owners of parent amounted to 70.5 billion yen (£460.6 million).
Bridgestone Corporation announced today its intention to withdraw from the conveyor belt business as part of a restructuring of its diversified products business. The company will gradually reduce production and sales volume in order to “minimise the impact to the operations of its customers and suppliers” and will completely withdraw from the business by the end of 2024.
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