Siemens Sticks to Plan for VDO Automotive Unit IPO
(Akron/Tire Review) Siemens said it is sticking to its plan for an initial public offering of up to half of its automotive engineering unit VDO despite interest from potential buyers.
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EBC Brakes Partners with Bridgestone
Product NewsIt is no small accomplishment for a smaller company such as EBC Brakes to find itself as a preferred partner of Bridgestone, but following successful pilot testing, a nationwide rollout of EBC Brakes to all 163 of the Bridgestone First Stop fitting centres is underway. Publishing the news EBC pointed out that there is absolutely no financial connection between the two companies. Instead the relationship is described as: “Merely an exploitation of a common quality base of consumers looking for good tyres and good brakes in one location.”
Check Your Tyres and Save the World
Product NewsSpeaking at the Geneva motor show, the director general of the London-based FIA Foundation, David Ward, has reiterated the significant financial and environmental impact of driving with under inflated tyres.
As part of the ‘Think Before You Drive’ campaign the FIA Foundation has conducted in partnership with Bridgestone, the foundation has been privy to the results of numerous studies. “In doing this campaign, where there’s been a huge number of tyre testing around Europe, we’ve actually discovered the whole environmental story,” commented Mr. Ward.
Goodyear – a Highly Admired US Company
Product NewsThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has been identified by Fortune magazine as one of America’s most admired companies. Goodyear was the highest-ranked tyre company and ranked No. 2 overall in the motor vehicle parts category of Fortune’s America’s Most Admired Companies, up three places from its 2006 ranking.
Accuride Posts Q4, Annual Results
Product NewsComponents manufacturer Accuride Corporation has released its financial results for Q4 2006 and for the twelve months ending December 31, 2006. The company reported Q4 net sales of US$344.9 million, an increase of 15 per cent compared with the same period the previous year. Accuride attributes this expansion primarily to the continued robust demand in the commercial vehicle industry and the partial pass-through of raw material costs.
Auto Parts Maker Announces Closure
Product NewsThe bankrupt US automotive parts manufacturer Delphi Corp. announced on February 22 that it plans to close its Puerto Real factory in Cadiz, southern Spain. A union representing employees at the plant has stated that as many as 1,650 workers will be affected by this closure.
Conti Ready to Flash the Cash
Product NewsGerman tyre and automotive systems major Continental AG has said they would prefer to deal in cash during the potential takeover of Siemens AG’s VDO unit or Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co’s engineered products division, according to the company’s chief financial officer Allan Hippe.
Toyo Releases Latest Financials
Product NewsToyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. has presented details of its consolidated business results for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2006 (from April 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006). Compared with the same period during the 2005 fiscal year, net sales increased to 240,807 million yen (£1.022 billion), up 5.9 per cent. Operating income decreased 36,5 per cent to 8,322 million yen (£35 million), ordinary income decreased to 5,767 million yen (£24.4 million), down 53 per cent, and net income rose to 8,570 million yen (£36.4 million), an increase of 31.8 per cent.
Analysts: Nokian Results 10 per cent Above Consensus
Product NewsFinancial 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.
Aiming for Perfection
Product NewsEvery year 4.3 million car and SUV tyres come out of Pirelli’s vast Carlisle factory located just south of the Cumbrian capital. Export markets take between 75 and 80 per cent of this number, and Pirelli’s Carlisle products also feature as OE equipment on some of the world’s most respected automotive brands. In a recent interview with the Cumberland News, Pirelli’s head of operations and Carlisle and Burton-on-Trent, Wolfgang Meier, spoke about the operation he overseas.
DTI, Consortium to Fund Tyre Scrap Research funding matched by industry.
Product NewsPlastics and rubber consultancy Rapra Technology is heading up a UK consortium of six companies who will conduct research into the devulcanisation of scrap tyre rubber. The two-year project is being funded by the Department of Trade and Industry as part of its Design and Manufacture of Sustainable Products programme, with more than £420,000 of direct financial assistance to be provided. The project partners will contribute another £420,000 between them.
Maxxis Launches New Dealer Site
Product News(Akron/Tire Review) Maxxis International has launched a new Web site for its U.S. dealer customers, which the company said features “vastly increased options for online ordering, payments, order tracking, and other key functions.”
Available 24/7, MaxxisLink.com, said the company, offers such features as:
• Real time inventory checks
• Access to financial information, including reprints of invoices and packing lists – plus online payments
• Up-to-date shipment history of MaxxisLink orders and an easy-to-use order template that lets customers save often-used info
Apollo Tyres Net Sales up 26 per cent
Product NewsAt the end of January, Apollo Tyres Ltd, published un-audited financial results for the 2006/07 financial year that show net sales grew by 26 per cent year-on-year to 8.575 billion rupees (£100 million). At the same time net profit as a percentage of sales increased to 4.1 per cent from 2.4 per cent.
Cabot Announces First Quarter Results
Product NewsTyre industry carbon black supplier Cabot Corporation has announced a net income of US$54 million for the first quarter of 2007. This is almost double their net income for the same fiscal period a year ago, in which a net income of US$24 million was achieved.
BEN: ‘Fund Us or Lose Us’
Product NewsBEN, the automotive industry charity, is facing a deficit of up to £750,000 in its financial year to 31 March after tough market conditions, a drop off in legacy donations and plant closures like Longbridge and Ryton hit its fundraising income. Already BEN has been forced to close its Palliative Care Unit at its Alexandra House care centre in Southport, a move that will cut costs by £150,000 per year through staff redundancies and internal changes.
