Now one of the largest tyre-producing countries in the world, China has an indisputable influence on the direction of global tyre trade. The home of both fast-growing up-and-coming brands as well as a burgeoning domestic market, this tag chronicles China’s involvement with the tyre business.
A filing Cooper Tire & Rubber submitted with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 12 November does little to raise hopes that the company can provide Apollo Tyres’ creditors with financial information for the quarter to 30 September 2013 by tomorrow, as required in order for Cooper not to breach its merger agreement.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is appealing the partial ruling made by the Delaware Chancery Court last week. The appeal was filed with the Delaware Supreme Court on 12 November and asks the court to rule on it on an expedited basis – before 31 December 2013, the date through which Cooper’s agreement with Apollo Tyres remains in effect. Cooper confirms that until that date, the 8 November partial ruling requires both parties to continue performing their obligations under the merger agreement.
Yokohama Rubber reports record sales and earnings in the first three quarters of 2013. Net sales increased 4.9 per cent over the same period of the previous year to 412.4 billion yen (£2.6 billion), operating income increased 13.8 per cent to 29.9 billion yen (£188.3 million) and net income increased 12.3 per cent to 19.6 billion yen (£123.5 million). The three totals were the highest ever in the nine-month period between January and September, although the company does point out that prior to shifting to calendar-year accounting in 2011 the same nine-month period corresponded to the fourth, first, and second quarters of the financial year.
One snippet of information to emerge from this week’s Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. v. Apollo Holdings Pvt Ltd court case is that Apollo attempted to eliminate opposition to its Cooper Tire buyout by acquiring the 35 per cent share in Cooper Chengshan held by Cooper’s joint venture partner. This potential problem-solver failed when the sum Apollo offered fell way short of the Chengshan Group’s expectations.
At yesterday’s presentation of its 2013-2017 Industrial Plan in London, Pirelli & C. SpA highlighted its performance since the presentation of its previous Industrial Plan in 2011 (which covered 2011-2015) and stated its aims for the current period. The event followed the release of the company’s third quarter figures on 5 November. The headline figures for the third quarter are net sales of €1.52 billion (down 2.19 per cent year-on-year, operating income of €201.0 million (up 2.87 per cent), EBIT margin of 13.2 per cent (12.6 per cent in Q2 2012) and net income up 27.36 per cent to €108.0 million.
Apollo Tyres’ planned takeover of Cooper Tire appears to be in serious jeopardy as the latest court proceedings reveal the depth mistrust between the two companies. Cooper’s suggestion that Apollo has “buyer’s remorse” and is using the industrial dispute at Cooper Chengshan as a way of sabotaging the deal is the clearest example of this yet. The question of whether or not Apollo is putting everything it can into closing the deal is at the centre of the case. Apollo says it is doing everything it can despite the Chengshan and USW issues. Cooper says these are being used as delay tactics.
Yesterday the court case between Apollo Tyres & Cooper Tire & Rubber began in the US. The case is scheduled to run until tomorrow, and on the first day Cooper chairman, chief executive officer and president Roy Armes shared why relations with the partner in its Cooper Chengshan joint venture operation turned sour once the Apollo acquisition deal became known.
Czech Republic-based firm CODA Development is seeking licensees within the tyre industry for its patented Self Inflating Tire (SIT). The company says it will “immediately offer licenses to interested parties wanting to integrate SIT into their production lines.”
During the third quarter of 2013, net sales at Nexen Tire Corporation declined 2.9 per cent to KRW 438.5 billion (£253.9 million), the company reports. Gross profit rose 3.6 per cent compared with a year earlier to KRW 124.7 billion (£72.2 million) while operating profit was 12.1 per cent down at KRW 46.3 billion (£26.8 million). EBITDA was 3.1 per cent lower at KRW 71.9 billion (£41.6 million), with the margin stable at 16.4 per cent.
One size fits all is a poor solution when it comes to clothing, and it’s also an unacceptable compromise for tyres. What’s good for one market may gain a lukewarm reception in the next. For this reason Giti Tire, like other tyre majors, designs and manufactures market-specific products. This commitment to delivering tyres tailored to regional conditions and preferences was given a significant boost this year with the establishment of new research and development centres in the US and Germany. Towards the end of October, Tyres & Accessories visited Giti Tire’s new European Research and Development Centre just north of Hannover to find out more about the new facility and the people who’ll lead it.
During the third quarter of 2013, revenues at Hankook Tire edged up 0.8 per cent to KRW 1.80 trillion billion (£1.06 billion, €1.22 billion), while operating profit of KRW 244.2 billion (£143.3 million, €165.9 million) was 5.9 per cent higher than the same time last year yet 10.4 per cent lower than in the second quarter of 2013. Operating profit to sales ratio was 13.6 per cent, up 9.9 per cent year-on-year but down 10.0 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
Demand for passenger car tyres in China is forecast to rise over the medium to long term, and the high performance segment is particularly expected to see high growth. For this reason, Bridgestone Corporation’s group company in China, Bridgestone (Wuxi) Tire Co., Ltd., will increase production capacity at its Wuxi plant by approximately 5,300 tyres a day.
TRW Automotive Holdings was recently awarded the 2013 General Motors Supplier Quality Excellence Award for “achieving consistently high levels of quality performance” during the past year at then of its manufacturing facilities.
The holding company for Yokohama Rubber’s Chinese operations, Yokohama Rubber (China) Co., Ltd., reports receiving a ‘Most Excellent Company Image Award’ at the ‘2013 Beautiful China’ awards ceremony held in Beijing late last month.
Natural rubber production in the region represented by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries – Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam – is expected to rise 3.0 per cent this year to 10.645 million tonnes.
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