After an April to June period punctuated by negative EBIT and a net loss, tyre maker and automotive components supplier Continental says it is “looking ahead to the second half of the year with optimism.” It is also maintaining its full-year outlook despite a current headwind that chief financial officer Katja Dürrfeld describes as being “rather like a hurricane.”
In the first week of August, Taiwanese tyre manufacturers Nankang and Federal successively released operating data for July 2022.
Nankang’s operating revenue in July was NT$660 million (about £18.22 million; 21.58 million euros), down 10.8 per cent from NT$740 million (about £20.42 million; 24.2 million euros) in the same period last year. From January to July, the tyre maker’s operating revenue was about NT$4.72 billion (about £130 million; 115 million euros), down 3.08 per cent year-on-year.
Larger than ever following its acquisition of Cooper Tire in 2021, Goodyear Tire & Rubber reported year-on-year net sales growth of 31 per cent in Q2 2022. Sales amounted to US$5.2 billion in the three months to 30 June 2022, and Goodyear states that even excluding the Cooper transaction, this figure reflects year-on-year growth of over 15 per cent. Other factors driving this increase included improvements in price/mix, higher volume, and increased sales from other tyre-related businesses.
During the second quarter of 2022, Hankook Tire grew its sales by 12.9 per cent year-on-year to KRW 2,039.9 billion (£1.3 billion). Operating profit, squeezed by world events, rising raw material costs and inflation, shrank 6.3 per cent year-on-year to KRW 175.2 billion (£109.9 million). This result nonetheless represented a 39.0 per cent increase compared with the operating profit of KRW 126.0 billion (£79.0 million) achieved in Q1 2022. Hankook attributes this quarter-on-quarter improvement to a growing share of sales attributable to high-value-added products as well as effective pricing strategies.
In a market hit by the systemic impacts of the conflict in Ukraine and the health crisis, the Michelin Group reports that its net income fell by 18.3 per cent despite a year-on-year increase in sales. The tyre maker nevertheless considers this a good result “in an extremely unsettled environment.”
Continental AG has published its preliminary, unaudited key financial figures for Q2 2022, and these show that the company achieved consolidated sales of 9.4 billion euros, with an adjusted EBIT margin of 4.4 per cent.
In early May, Prometeon Tyre Group launched its Pirelli-branded Serie 02 truck tyre range in Venice, Italy. More than 200 customers from 10 countries were invited to learn about the launch of the Serie 02, which has been on sale in the EMEA region since April. General manager Roberto Righi, chief technical officer Alexandre Bregantim, head of marketing Sabina Oriani and region Europe CEO Francesco Antonacci were all on-hand to explain about Prometeon’s latest products and strategies.
Although impacted by the rising cost of raw materials and logistics, off-highway tyre specialist BKT delivered a healthy profit in the financial year ending 31 March 2022. Profit after tax rose 22 per cent year-on-year to Rs 14.11 billion (£148.58 million) on the back of income that rose 47 per cent to Rs 84.19 billion (£886.52 million) and sales volumes that increased 27 per cent to 288,795 tonnes. EBITDA was, at Rs 21.82 billion (£229.76 million), up 21 per cent, with the margin contracting 5.6 percentage points to 25.9 per cent.
Apollo Tyres reports revenue of Rs 209.48 billion (£2.22 billion) for the financial year ending 31 March 2021, 20 per cent higher than during the prior fiscal year. EBITDA declined 8.0 per cent year-on-year to Rs 25.74 billion (£272.59 million), with the EBITDA margin contracting 379 Bps to 12.3 per cent. Net profit stands at Rs 6.39 billion (£67.67 million).
Although the sales revenue of 185.6 billion yen (£1.2 billion) earned by the Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. in Q1 2022 was the highest figure it ever achieved in the January-to-March quarter and a 28.4 per cent improvement on the result attained a year earlier, the company nonetheless had little cause for celebration by the time rising costs and other complications were factored in. Profit attributable to owners of parent declined 63.5 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022 to 10.2 billion yen (£64.9 million). Operating profit was, at 13.7 billion yen (£87.1 million), down 62.7 per cent.
Announcing its financial results for the first quarter of 2022, tyre maker and automotive technology firm Continental states that it “performed well” during the period despite “an increasingly turbulent market environment.” It describes its Q1 2022 tyre business as “strong.”
Indian tyre maker MRF Limited has reported a standalone income of Rs 193.04 billion (£2.03 billion) for the financial year ending 31 March 2022, a 19.7 per cent increase on the previous year’s result. Exports were slightly up, being valued at Rs 17.79 billion (£186.80 million), compared with Rs 13.33 billion for the prior financial year. Standalone net profit, however, dropped 48.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6.47 billion (£67.94 million).
Michelin Group has reported that its first quarter 2022 sales amounted to 6.5 billion euros, a 19 per cent increase on the first quarter of 2021. According to the company, price increases and strengthening replacement demand helped it offset headwinds including operation disruptions and inflationary pressures exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine plus the resurgence of Covid-19 in China.
Due to several factors, Continental is adjusting its outlook for fiscal 2022. The company expects global production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to increase by between four and six per cent year-on-year in 2022, a lower rate than the six to nine per cent growth that the prior outlook (published 9 March 2022) was based on. Negative effects from cost inflation for key inputs, especially for oil-based raw materials as well as for energy and logistics for the Tires and ContiTech businesses, are also becoming significantly more material.
The difficulties that tyre makers are facing at present were reflected in Prinx Chengshan Holdings Limited’s financial results for 2021. Although company revenue increased 20 per cent year-on-year, a “significant increase in raw material prices and ocean freight rates” dragged gross profit down by approximately 24.7 per cent.
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