For the first time since being acquired by China’s Doublestar four years ago, Kumho Tire has published an annual report. Under the title ‘Up and Running’, the South Korean tyre maker reports on the course of the 2021 business year, which the manufacturer closed with a turnover of KRW 2.6 trillion won (£1.65 billion), a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent.
Aeolus and Doublestar recently reported operating results for the first half of 2022. Both show sharp declines in net profits for the two companies that have controlling interests in global tyremakers Prometeon and Kumho respectively.
Chinese listed tyre companies have successively released their 2021 annual reports in recent weeks. Here, Tyrepress analyses these annual reports’ comparing developments in revenue, operating conditions and overseas factory strategy. And the short story is Linglong remains the largest tyremaker amongst the top 10 listed Chinese tyre companies and that Sailun is the fastest growing.
The Doublestar Group reports that it has signed a cooperation agreement with information and communications company Huawei. According to information posted by Doublestar, the partners will utilise their respective strengths to develop the infrastructure for a 5G network over which tyre pressure, temperature and wear data can be transmitted and shared between vehicles and companies in real-time.
Triangle Tyre expresses pride in its comeback as a top-ten consumer tyre brand in the China Brand Power Index (C-BPI) 2020. The brand occupies ninth place, ahead of domestic rivals such as Warrior, Chaoyang, Giti and Linglong.
It was a difficult birth. As regular visitors to this site are well aware, Qingdao Doublestar Co Ltd.’s acquisition of Kumho Tire was punctuated by more than its share of complications: Threats of mass resignations, bickering over brand name use and questions about financing all belonged to the experience.
Buried within the more than 134 pages of Qingdao Doublestar’s latest semi-annual report is the news that the state-owned tyre maker will extend China’s ‘one belt, one road’ strategy by working with a local partner to establish a tyre production facility in Algeria. The Chinese-language document states that its subsidiary Hong Kong Doublestar signed a joint venture agreement with El Hadj Larbi Pneumatiques during the reporting period.
Qingdao Doublestar Tire, owner of Kumho Tire since July 2018, has once again grown through an acquisition. The Chinese tyre maker says it has completed the purchase of Shandong Hengyu Technology Co., Ltd. for RMB 899 million (£103.1 million). Doublestar disclosed in March that it had signed an agreement with Hengyu Technology’s administrator to acquire 100 per cent equity in the business.
Kumho Tire plans to delist its shares from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) at the end of April 2019, according to South Korean company filings.
It may not be the best-selling Korean tyre brand worldwide, but at home Kumho outsells its domestic rivals. Data from the Korea Tire Manufacturers Association (KOTMA) indicates that 6.52 million replacement market Kumho tyres were sold in South Korea in 2018. This is more than 40 per cent of all locally-made tyres sold in the country.
Kumho Tire has been struggling appoint new company leadership after its previous chairman left following Doublestar’s purchase of the company.
Doublestar Tyres, the new majority shareholder of Kumho, recently announced that its tyres are on-sale alongside premium brands at Carrefour supermarkets in Spain.
According to Doublestar, which compared Carrefour founded in 1959 to Walmart in the USA, the supermarket chain is Europe’s favourite. Having pioneered the so-called hypermarket approach in Europe Carrefour has developed into the largest retailer in Europe and the second largest international retail chain group in the world, with business scope covering more than 40 countries and regions. Carrefour owns 17 large chain stores in Spain, which covers the Iberian area and radiates to the whole pan-European region. With an annual population of 400 million, Carrefour is a perfect channel for product sales and a perfect platform for brand exposure.
Qingdao Doublestar Group, recently named Antonio Smith Montero as general director for the company in Spain and Portugal. With this announcement the company, which recently acquired Korean manufacturer Kumho Tire and is well-known for its Doublestar, Crossleader and Aosen brands has underlined its commitment to the Iberian tyre market.
The second edition of the Tire+ exhibition, organised by China United Rubber Company, got underway today in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province China at the world-famous Canton show ground. The show runs in parallel with the large-scale Guangzhou Autoshow (itself a top three automotive event in China) as well as the China Essen Motor Show and continues until 19 November.
Under a technology transfer agreement signed with Pakistan-based battery manufacturer Century Engineering Industries, South Korean tyre maker Kumho Tire will provide technological and manufacturing know-how as Century establishes its own tyre production plant. The agreement signed in Seoul today covers the ten-year period to September 2028; Century Engineering will initially pay Kumho Tire US$5 million and 2.5 per cent of turnover for the assistance provided, with the contract scheduled for review after five years.
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Doublestar
Mylene2401; Pixabay
Stephen Goodchild