Deutsche Bank Archives - Page 8 of 16 - Tyrepress

Posts

Siemens Hires Banks for Possible VDO IPO

(Akron/Tire Review)) News reports out of Germany say that Siemens AG has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank AG to act as lead coordinators for a possible initial public offering (IPO) of its VDO Automotive unit.

The reports added that Siemens has not yet made a final decision on whether or not it will seek to list a minority stake in the unit, or sell it outright.

Continental AG has repeatedly said it wants to buy the business from Siemens.

Following an IPO, analysts expect VDO to achieve a market capitalization of $9.5 billion to $12 billion. However, if the entire business is sold, they think Siemens could receive more than $14 billion for it.

11th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Reports Record Car Tyre EBIT

Despite the fact that Nokian had already pre-announced its Q1 headline numbers, analysts have written of their surprise at the strength of the Finnish companies divisional breakdown figures. “Car Tyres reported EBIT of 41.6 euros, 13 per cent higher than we had assumed. The EBIT margin was hence 29.4 per cent, the second highest quarterly margin ever beaten only by the third quarter of 2004, which is a seasonally more important quarter,” Deutsche bank reported in an analytical report.

Growth in Nokian’s Russian operations are said to have been a main reason for the record margins. Nokian’s St Petersburg plant has been routinely praised by analysts who described it as generating significant cost efficiency improvements “on top of the very solid demand picture.”

11th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Q1 Sales Praised

Analysts have praised Michelin’s strong first quarter sales which saw sales increase 9.5 per cent when restated from foreign exchange impact. The company also reported market share gains of 4.9 and 4.4 per cent in Europe and the US respectively. “…this gives us comfort in our first half EBIT of 900 million euros, 40 per cent (250 million euros), significantly above consensus,” Deutsche Bank analysts commented, reporting the consensus as 765 million or 120 million euros. Meanwhile Thomas Aney of Dresdner Kleinwort maintained his “hold” rating on Michelin, while raising his estimates for the company.

27th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

US Shipments Down, But Pricing ‘Robust’

Preliminary US tyre shipment data shows that the North American light vehicle replacement market declined 1.3 per cent year-on-year in first quarter of 2007. This figure is seen as an improvement over the -4.5 per cent drop during the same period of last year, but is not enough for analysts to feel comfortable talking about recovery. However, Deutsche Bank analysts have reported that “pricing appears to be trending significantly better than expected.” Referring to Goodyear’s 4-5 per cent price increase effective1 April, the analysts added: “We believe that Cooper is likely to follow suit. Every 1 percentage point change in price translates to approximately $0.25 in earnings per share for both companies.”

13th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts: Continental/Matador Deal “Logical”

Describing the deal as “logical” Deutsche Bank analysts have estimated that the cost of the 51 per cent Matador stake Continental AG recently purchased should be “in the low triple digit million euros.” This is consistent with earlier reports (published in Tyres & Accessories at the third quarter of 2006), which predicted the deal would cost around 150 million euros.

Summing up the benefits of the deal for Continental the analysts said: “Via Matador Continental gets a further plant in Russia, access to a 24 per cent stake in its combined venture for truck tyres as well as a small addition to Contitech (Matador also produces conveyor belts),” adding: “Since the tyre industry is global, the group should logically in the future make acquisitions outside Europe if they want to become a more global player in the industry.”

13th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Euro Strength “Concerning”

The high relative value of the euro against the Japanese yen is causing concerns for those trading with Japan. According to an analysts report published today the euros is trading at an all-time high versus the yen and is only 2 cents away from an all-time high versus the dollar. Deutsche Bank analysts reported that the profitability of European exports to Japan “which are hardly profitable…even though Japanese pricing levels remain on the high side in a global context” are of particular concern.

11th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Sells Engineered Products Division

After much speculation about the fate of Goodyear’s Engineered Products Division and reports of strong interest from Germany’s Continental AG, news that the division is to be acquired by global private equity firm The Carlyle Group have come as a surprise to many. The company announced the signing of an agreement with Goodyear on March 23 and stated they would pay the tyremaker US$1.475 billion in cash for the Engineered Products Division. This sale price translates to a surprisingly high 9.3x 2006 EBITDA of $158 million, and is considerably higher than the conservative sale price of $750 million recently estimated by Deutsche Bank. The transaction is subject to the usual closing conditions, such as regulatory approvals and finalising a labour agreement with the United Steelworkers union.

The Engineered Products Division employs about 6,500 people worldwide at 32 manufacturing facilities, and annually generates approximately $1.5 billion in sales. Following the sale the division’s headquarters will remain in Akron, Ohio and current management, including president and CEO Timothy R. Toppen, will continue to lead the business.

26th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Issues 610 million euro Convertible Bond

Michelin is issuing a 610 million euro convertible bond, which has the option of increasing to 700 million. According to a Deutsche Bank report, the move surprised us analysts as they expected company management to focus on generating “strong free cashflow.” However, the analysts added, “conditions look favourable: premium of 35-40 per cent on share price; limited dilution (potentially around 6 million shares); and limited cost (3.4 per cent).”

15th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Strong Pirelli Q4 Results but No Dividend Expected

Pirelli & C. SpA operating results, due Monday March 12, are expected to rise, supported by the strong performance of its tyre operations in the fourth quarter. Additionally, according to analysts, it is also anticipated that the company will not pay a dividend after its 2.1 billion euro third-quarter write-down on its stake in Telecom Italia SpA.

9th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts Raise Goodyear Share Target

Analysts have raised their share target for Goodyear following the company’s announcement that it will change its salaried benefits which will have the combined effect of reducing the company’s pension expenses by $80-$90 million in 2007 and $100-$110 MM in 2008.

5th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

US Tyre Shipments Decline

US replacement tyre shipments declined 4.9 per cent in January, despite being down 4.4 per cent in January 2005. The downturn is widely accepted to have been at least partly caused by the recent Goodyear strike. According to Deutsche Bank analysts, warm weather may also have pushed back demand for winter tyres. The analysts also observed that other tyre makers, including Cooper Tire, are experiencing better demand than the overall market data suggests

19th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts: Nokian Results 10 per cent Above Consensus

Financial analysts are reporting that Nokian Tyres’ recent fiscal results exceeded expectations. According to one Deutsche Bank note the Finnish manufacturer achieved further quarter net sales and EBIT 10 and 11 per cent above consensus respectively. The driver for the strong performance is said to have been the company’s was Car Tyres division, as growth in Russia once again surprised, growing by almost 100 per cent.

16th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental’s EBIT Could Improve

Following Manfred Wennemer’s recent statement that he was expecting a lower pre-tax profit margin in 2007, Deutsche Bank analysts have suggested the Continental CEO’s words were “very bearish.” Wennemer’s assessment is based on the cost of integrating Motorola’s car electronic unit (3 per cent EBIT margin versus 11 per cent for Continental AG) into the group.

18th January 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti’s High EU Winter Tyre Sales Could Make ’07 Season Harder

Days after Continental announced that it increased sales of winter tyres by 8 per cent in 2006, financial analysts have been assessing the knock-on effect. In one report Deutsche Bank analysts suggested: “…since the weather [was] mild in Europe in the fourth quarter 2006, the sell out season was low, underlying high inventories at dealers. As a result they say there is a risk that the 2007 winter season will be challenging as dealers will have to move their excess stock first before ordering new tyres.

18th January 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

US Military Opens Up New Front in Goodyear Strike

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has asked the heads of Goodyear and the United Steelworkers union to come to a partial agreement to allow 200 workers at the tyremaker’s Topeka, Kansas plant to return to work. The request comes as the US Military has raised concerns about a potential shortage of tyres used on military vehicles, Deutsche Bank analysts report. Because of the 9-week-old strike, production of Goodyear tyres for Humvees has fallen to 10,500 per month from a US Army requirement of 20,000. The US military is reportedly considering invoking a law that forbids workers from abandoning jobs that are vital to US national security.

14th December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors