Company News Archives - Page 6 of 40 - Tyrepress

Tyre and wheel business news from the segment’s most important companies.

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Maxxis offers website competitions with Liverpool FC

Tyre manufacturer, Maxxis has announced three exclusive competitions in conjunction with the Premier League football team Liverpool to win official signed memorabilia. Maxxis is asking visitors to its website to identify past and present Liverpool stars whose faces have been disguised with its tyre patterns, with a signed shirt or ball up for grabs for one winner. Maxxis has a sponsorship deal with the Anfield club, which the company has called “one of our biggest successes”. The Taiwanese Maxxis brand has stepped up its sponsorship of major sporting events recently, with Major League Baseball, NBA and Australian Open tennis sponsorships joining existing Premier League football deals.

12th April 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin sells former Paris HQ

In June 2011, Michelin consolidated its Paris-based staff operations to a new site in Boulogne-Billancourt. Following this move, the company’s 12,000 square metre former headquarters has stood vacant. Michelin has now announced the property at 46 avenue de Breteuil in Paris’ seventh arrondissement has been sold to French insurer Covéa.

2nd April 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin credit rating upgraded

Standard & Poor’s has upgraded Michelin’s long-term credit rating to BBB+ from BBB, while affirming its A-2 short-term rating and stable outlook. According to a Standard & Poor’s press release, the decision to upgrade reflects the significant improvement in Michelin’s operating performance over the past two years and the strengthening of its balance sheet.

27th March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Sibur-Russian Tyres divests Volzhsky Azot gas business

US-based industrial gases company Praxair, Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire Sibur-Russian Tyres’ industrial and packaged gases business in the Volgograd Region of the Russian Federation. The business operates under the name Volzhsky Azot and includes two air separation units and a bulk and packaged gas business. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

23rd March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess announces record results

At its annual press conference on 22 March, specialty chemicals company Lanxess reported record sales and earnings figures during the 2011 financial year. Highlights the company touched upon were a 23 per cent rise in sales to 8,775 million euros, EBITDA pre exceptionals up 25 per cent to 1,146 million euros – the first time the one billion euro mark has been exceeded. The company’s EBITDA margin pre exceptionals came in at 13.1 per cent, compared with 12.9 percent the year before. Net income rose disproportionately compared with sales and EBITDA pre exceptionals, improving by one third from the previous year to 506 million euros. These positive results were achieved, the company stated, thanks to its price-before-volume strategy, successful acquisitions and focus on the emerging markets.

22nd March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Rhein Chemie acquires US bladder manufacturer

German specialty chemicals manufacturer Lanxess says its position as a premium supplier to the tyre industry has been strengthened by its subsidiary Rhein Chemie’s acquisition of US-based bladder manufacturer Tire Curing Bladders LLC (TCB) for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which closed with immediate effect, sees Rhein Chemie as the proud owner of a firm with the capacity to produce more than 400,000 bladders per annum. TCB primarily serves the North American market and achieved sales of more than US$21 million in 2011. The company employs around 100 people.

19th March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Titan announces first quarter dividend

The Titan International Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of US$.005 per common share for the first quarter of 2012. The cash dividend is payable 16 April 2012, to stockholders of record on 30 March, 2012.

16th March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Chinese court confirms Bridgestone’s lawsuit victory

Bridgestone Corporation reports success in its lawsuit against Chinese manufacturer Guangming Tyre Group regarding the infringement of its design patent rights. The case began in May 2011, when Bridgestone filed a lawsuit in the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court, alleging its design patent rights were violated by Guangming Tyre Group. Specifically, Bridgestone claimed Guangming was manufacturing and selling tyres that used the Japanese tyre maker’s patented truck and bus tyre tread patterns. Guangming produces tyres under the Heshan and Chaoyinsu brand names.

16th March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

TBC Corp to acquire Midas for $310M

US-based company TBC Corporation, which calls itself the country’s largest marketer of tyres for the automotive replacement market, has acquired automotive service provider Midas for approximately US$310 million. The all-cash transaction will see Midas shares change hands for $11.50 each, a price that represents a 75 per cent premium over Midas’ closing price of $6.58 on 11 August 2011, when Midas announced it would conduct a strategic review process, and a 28 per cent premium over the closing share price as of 12 March 2012. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors. In addition, Midas chairman, president and CEO Alan Feldman has signed a tender and voting agreement in support of the offer.

14th March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Poland – most likely site for Apollo’s new factory?

Speaking at the launch of the Aspire 4G high performance tyre in Geneva, Apollo Tyres Ltd chairman and managing director Onkar Singh Kanwar reiterated the tyre maker’s commitment to European consumers. “While European companies are looking east, your company, Apollo, is focusing on Europe, and Europe will remain central to our focus,” he stated. “We will keep investing in production facilities, in technology, development and product launches to ensure that the best and most effective products are brought to you. Apollo will accelerate its growth momentum over the years to come.”

12th March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin confident of meeting ambitious objectives

In the last Michelin Annual and Sustainable Development Report that group managing partners Michel Rollier and Jean-Dominique Senard will jointly present, the two leaders of the French company commented on a 2011 punctuated by the start of the tyre maker’s new four-year business plan and rocketing commodity prices. For this year they share that growth is anticipated in emerging markets and North America, while Europe will most likely deliver more modest results. Rollier also expressed his “full and absolute” confidence in his successor, who is expected to take over sole leadership in May.

6th March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Infinity releases lifestyle magazine

Infinity Tyres has announced that the company will publish a self-titled lifestyle magazine in a bid to communicate the multifaceted nature of the brand. According to the company, Infinity likes to think of itself as more than just a tyre brand.

5th March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti growth ‘sets new records’

Continental Corporation says its 2011 sales, operating results and net income results “set new records.” Reporting at the company’s annual financial press conference on 1 March, l CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart said in 2011 Continental “grew nearly twice as much as the relevant markets in almost all business areas and generated a sales increase of 17 per cent to 30.5 billion euros. At the same time, our operating result (EBIT) increased twice as fast as sales to approximately 2.6 billion euros. We significantly improved our EBIT margin from 7.4 per cent in the previous year to 8.5 per cent. For the first time since 2006, all divisions were in the black again despite of the acquisition-related write-downs that will continue up to and including 2014.” He further reported adjusted EBIT (adjusted in particular for acquisition-related write-downs and special effects) of “a good 3 billion euros” and a margin of 10.1 per cent, figures exceeding the forecast issued at the start of 2010.

1st March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

High diesel prices are crippling hauliers says RHA

The Road Haulage Association's latest weekly fuel price survey – the most reliable guide to what hauliers actually pay for diesel deliveries to their depots – shows a national average price of 116.33 pence before VAT (139.60 after VAT).

1st March 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

2011 a ‘record year’ for Titan

Titan International has recorded a record fourth quarter and full-year 2011. The US firm says its year to date 2011 sales were the highest in company history and increased 69 per cent year-on-year to US$1.487 billion. Gross profit for 2011 amounted to $232.1 million, or 15.6 per cent of net sales, a year-on-year rise of 123.0 per cent. Net income for the year was $58.2 million, compared to a loss of $5.9 million during the 2010 financial year. Fourth quarter results tell a similar story: Sales during the three months to 31 December came to $402.9 million, up from $232.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Income from operations increased from $16.2 million in the final quarter of 2010 to $58.5 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

29th February 2012/by Tyrepress Editors