Improved core business gives Nokian a ‘flying start’ to 2011
The quarter one results released by Nokian Tyres plc on May 6 show the group’s net sales to have increased 57.3 per cent to 289.2 million euros in the three months to March 31, 2011 and profit up 211.1 per cent year-on-year to 62.4 million euros. For the rest of 2011, the Finnish tyre maker anticipates operating profit, which during the first quarter jumped 241.8 per cent year-on-year to 183.8 million euros, will “improve clearly” compared with 2010; this may be helped by a 30 per cent increase production capacity during the year, largely in its Russian plant. The challenge posed by raw material costs remains, however, and Nokian anticipates these will this year be 30 per cent higher than in 2010. To counter this, Nokian is preparing for “further tyre price increases during 2011.”
