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Conti Publishes “Very Strong” First Quarter Figures

Continental AG’s consolidated sales for the first quarter of 2007 rose by 9.8 per cent compared with the same period of the previous year to 3.964 billion. At the same time EBIT rose by 24 per cent to 436.8 million euros, up from 352.4 million the previous year. For the first three months of 2007, there was a free cash flow of -119.8 million euros, down from -230.2 million. Net debt was 141.3 million euros higher than at year-end 2006. “This was mainly incurred through the financing of the acquisition of the automotive electronics business of Motorola and the contributions to the Contractual Trust Arrangement (CTA) of 630 million euros,” explained CFO Dr. Alan Hippe.

4th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tecalemit on Show at Brityrex

Tecalemit Garage Equipment Ltd has been exhibiting its new Sentinel 4449070, 2 post lift, which has a capacity of 3.2 tonnes. The heavy duty, hydraulic lift is suitable for use
with a comprehensive range of vehicles from cars to LGV’s. The stylishly designed lift has no overhead gantry, allowing for taller vehicles.

2nd May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Shows Interest in China

Ceat, India’s fourth largest tyre manufacturer, has its eye on acquiring or entering into a partnership with a tyremaker in China. Such a move would benefit Ceat considerably, and the company believes that the additional capacity this would bring, along with removing bottlenecks in supply and improving the company’s product mix, enable Ceat to place a greater focus upon exports and increase both volume of production and profit margins.

Arnab Banerjee, the company’s vice-president of sales and marketing said “China provides a big opportunity. We may look at options for a possible partnership or even an acquisition.” A presence in China would provide Ceat with a foothold in a market undergoing even more dynamic changes than India. China is currently the world’s largest producer of tyres, with more than 4.5 million tonnes of rubber utilised last year.

24th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Construction Progresses at Nexen’s Chinese Plant and R&D Centre

Nexen Tire Corporation has announced it will invest some £87 million ($170 million) over three years in the construction of its new Qingdao plant. The new production line will be up and running by the end of 2007, increasing production levels for customers signed up to UK exclusive distributor Stapleton’s Nexen Key Dealer Programme. The company is also planning to construct a new R&D centre in China at the beginning of next year, meaning customers can look forward to the launch of new products and an improved range.

Located in Laixi City, Qingdao, China, Nexen Tire Corporation’s new production facility will produce tyres for the American, European and Chinese markets and form part of the company’s strategy to become one of the top 10 tyre manufacturers in the world.

The production line will be running at full capacity by 2009 when it will produce more than 2.25 million tyres a year. Combined with Nexen’s production capacity in Korea, the company will be producing a total of more than 22 million tyres a year. Nexen expects the plant to be among the largest in China, covering around 5.7 million square feet.

24th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Identified as Strong in OTR Sector

The online stock broking firm India Infoline has recommended Ceat Ltd as a recommended buy only a day or so after making a similar recommendation regarding Apollo Tyre. India Infoline describe Ceat as a ‘diversified tyre major’ who is ‘ramping up its production facilities to benefit from the uptrend in [the] automobile industry,’ and claims the tyremaker has plans in the pipeline that will see its OTR capacity more than doubled from 40,000 to 100,000 units per year.

Tyres & Accessories has previously reported on the company’s intention to establish three new greenfield facilities, one of which would function as a ‘speciality tyre’ plant for OTR tyres. In addition to OTR investment Ceat intends to spend Rs200 million (£2.4 million) upgrading its passenger car tyre production facilities and increasing output in this segment.

19th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo a Recommended Buy – Broker

The online stock broking firm India Infoline has indicated that Apollo Tyres is a prudent share purchase, and has placed a recommended buy rating on the stock with a target of Rs 397 (£4.74). India Infoline describes Apollo as the leading commercial vehicle tyre player in India and adds that the company is expanding at a rapid pace, both organically and inorganically. The brokerage firm expects Apollo’s topline and bottom line to grow by 14.3 per cent and 26.2 per cent respectively between the 2006 and 2009 financial years.

Apollo is expanding passenger car tyre capacity by 1,100,000 units and light commercial tyre capacity by 100,000 units by the end of the 2007 financial year, increasing total production to 410 tonnes per day. To add to the tyremaker’s sharemarket desirability, Apollo have also recently commenced production of its Dura Tyre range of retreads, scheduled for initial launch in northern India in May 2007.

17th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Report: 85 UK Tyre Companies Are Takeover Targets

At least 85 UK tyres, exhausts & batteries firms are prime targets for a takeover and another 113 could be sold off by their parent companies, according to a new report by independent business analysts Plimsoll Publishing. At the other end of the scale are 27 major companies that are expanding rapidly, largely through acquisitions, and 76 “predators” who are using the misfortune of others to clean up in the market.

Plimsoll’s senior analyst, David Pattison, said: “The 85 takeover targets we have identified generally have a similar profile – they are privately owned, are in financial difficulty and have owners who are approaching retirement. Any firm in this position should be listening to the warning bells, because its potential selling price will be in the bargain basement. The other 113 distressed companies are operating as divisions of larger parents. I’m fairly certain that conversations are going on behind closed doors about their future.”

16th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

W. Alan McCollough Elected to Goodyear Board

W. Alan McCollough, former chairman and chief executive officer of Circuit City Stores Inc., has been elected to the Board of Directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

“Alan McCollough is a respected business leader who led a turnaround at Circuit City,” said Goodyear chairman and CEO Robert J. Keegan. “His retail experience and marketing knowledge will be of significant value to our board of directors.”

11th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to “Aggressively Capitilise” on Opportunities

Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s chairman has commented on company plans to further reduce costs by buying more of its equipment, raw materials and tyres from China. These remarks came at Goodyear’s annual shareholders meeting. Chairman and CEO Robert Keegan said the company is exploring additional ways in which it may eliminate production it considers high cost: “This initiative will accelerate over the next two years,” he said.

Goodyear Spokesman Keith Price added that the company saved about US$35 million last year by buying equipment, raw materials and low-end tyres from third parties in China. The company’s plans do not include expanded tyre production in China or additional plants to its facility in Dalian.

11th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Buys Controlling Stake in Matador Rubber

Continental AG, Hanover, is set to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the rubber business of Matador Group, Puchov, Slovakia, subject to the approval of antitrust authorities. There has been no official confirmation of the financial details involved, but a possible 150 million euro price-tag has been circulating for some time. Continental plans to integrate Matador into its brand portfolio and invest in expanding annual production from 5.5 to over 7 million passenger car and light truck tyres.

As a result of the deal, the Matador machinery factory in Puchov will be integrated into the machinery factory in Hanover-Stöcken as a second pillar. On top of that, Continental will gain addition research and development capacity.

11th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Danang Rubber Profits and Turnover Up

On April 3 Vietnam’s Danang Rubber Company released a statement announcing it anticipated a 14 per cent rise in net profit this year to 63 billion dong (US$4 million). According to company president Nguyen Quoc Tuan, revenues for the firm, which produces and retreads car, truck and OTR tyres in addition to producing bicycle and motorcycle tyres, expect their revenue to increase 15.5 per cent over last year’s figures, to 1.07 trillion dong ($680 million). These increases will result mainly from upgraded production capacity and strong export demand, especially for made-to-order tyres.

The company’s exports are expected to rise 13 per cent to $5 million, the statement added.

5th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Moves to Replace Telecom Italia Chairman

While Pirelli’s tyremaking business continues from success to success the controversy surrounding the company’s ill-fated involvement in Telecom Italia continues. The company’s dissatisfaction with various aspects of Telecom Italia’s strategy were made manifest on April 4 when Olimpia, the company jointly set up by Pirelli and the Benetton family to control Telecom Italia, excluded the communication group’s chairman Guido Rossi from a list of proposed new board members. However this move, tantamount to sacking Rossi, was immediately contested by two other prominent Telecom Italia shareholders on the grounds that the decision violated consultation agreements.

Rossi, a well-known corporate lawyer, has acted in the capacity of chairman since last September, taking on the role following the resignation of Marco Tronchetti after he publicly clashed with Italian prime minister Romano Prodi, a close associate of Rossi. However the boot is now on the other foot, with Tronchetti, as chairman of the Pirelli group, striving to oust his successor at Telecom Italia.

5th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Ranked as Top Foreign Investor in Poland

Poland’s leading monthly business magazine, Forbes Poland, has named Bridgestone as the top foreign investor in Poland for 2006. This distinction is based upon data supplied by Poland’s Ministry of Economy, which reveals that the total value of Bridgestone’s investment in Poland during the year exceeded that of all other overseas companies, including leading investors such as Dell, Sharp and Toyota.

4th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bandag Shareholders Approve Sale

Bandag Inc. held their final shareholders’ meeting on April 3, at which shareholders approved the sale of the retreader to Bridgestone Americas Holding, subsidiary of the Japanese tyre major, for US$1.05 billion. Bandag will become part of the US Bridgestone operation once the deal closes, which is expected to take place during the second quarter. Bandag spokesman Bill Block said the companies are awaiting regulatory approval in Europe and Canada before the deal is completely finalised, but anticipate no complications.

4th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Sees Demand for Two-Piece Tyre

(Akron/Tire Review – Topeka Capital-Journal) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. continues to see demand for its innovative two-piece tyre used in the mining industry, the company said Thursday.

The company added “incremental capacity to produce two-piece tread belts last week in Topeka,” the company said in a statement.

Introduced in 2003, Goodyear’s Two-Piece Assembly gives customers flexibility in operating trucks in various conditions. The tread belts may be replaced to give the customer a different type of tread to operate in a mine.

The increased production will provide additional treadbelts for the Two-Piece Assembly used in off-the-road (OTR) tyre applications, particularly in the mining and construction industry.

2nd April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors