Viktor Nekrasov has been appointed the financial director of Amtel holding and the chief financial officer of the parent company Amtel Holdings Holland.
In his new role he will be responsible for corporate finance, merger and takeover deals, as well as controlling the company’s financial activities.
Goodyear is launching a line of ‘self sealing’ truck tyres into the American market. The tyres will feature a gel-like rubber compound designed to instantly seal tread punctures, reports the Beacon Journal.
The manufacturer claims its new technology can extend the life of a truck tyre by six times its average span. The product is aimed at trucks operating in harsh conditions, where the tyres currently last for an average of three weeks.
Financial analysts are predicting that the US tyre market has performed better than expected in the month of December, increasing 9.5 per cent year-over-year. The news follows a six per cent increase in November and an 8 per cent decline in October. The market watchers from Deutsche Bank estimate that US tyre manufacturers are likely to have experienced a 2.5 per cent increase in replacement volume. In addition the analysts report that volumes this quarter are also better than expected. As a result Deutsche Bank predicts that Cooper and Goodyear will experience a positive modification in their share prices of $0.10 and $0.07 respectively.
Titan International has been ranked second in terms of stock appreciation in a list compiled from New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) companies. In 2004 the companies share price increased 393.5 per cent, second only to WR Grace & Co. The price of Titan’s stock grew from $3.06 on 31 December 2003 to $15.10 by the end of 2004.
“We congratulate W R Grace for their outstanding stock performance,” said Titan president and CEO, Maurice Taylor Jr. “Seeing Titan’s market value reach the levels where we knew it should be is rewarding. An investment of $3,000 in TWI stock on the first trading day of 2004, would have been worth approximately $15,000 on the last day of 2004. The effort and commitment of our employees and stockholders have made it possible to return to profitability and to achieve this remarkable progress and recognition within the investment community.”
Titan’s announcement marks a distinct turnaround in the company’s financial performance. Little over a year ago Titan was in danger of being de-listed from the NYSE for having a very low share price.
Goodyear is to resolve some of its financial issues by working with South Pacific Tyres Australia to reach an agreement on how to account for $8 million through a supply deal between both companies.
According to news source Forbes, the tyre manufacturer is attempting to have this supply deal aligned under US accounting principles. The financial statements for South Pacific Tyres are prepared under Australian accounting principles, and then adjusted for use in the United States. These disclosures are required before Goodyear can file its amended annual report for 2003 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
After procuring more than 75% of the Phoenix capital stock in November, the Continental subsidiary ContiTech AG may in the future exercise a dominating influence over Phoenix AG following the vote of the Phoenix shareholders. At the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of Phoenix AG on December 28, the shareholders of the Hamburg company approved a corresponding control and profit and loss transfer agreement which had already been concluded between Phoenix and ContiTech on November 16. The agreement will go into effect as soon as it has been entered in the commercial register.
Accuride Corporation (Evansville/Indiana), North America’s largest manufacturer and supplier of wheels for heavy/medium trucks and trailers, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Transportation Technologies Industries, Inc. (TTI), one of the largest North American manufacturers of truck components for the heavy and medium-duty trucking industry. The common stock of both companies is privately held. Upon completion of the merger, the combined company will offer the trucking industry a onestop component sourcing solution and expects to become one of the predominant suppliers to the heavy/medium commercial vehicle industry.
Hankook has released monthly financial results for November, which show that the company has experienced a 15.3 per cent increase in operating profit and an 8.4 per cent increase in sales volumes. In this period tyre sales, by volume, increased from 2.761 million to 2.992 million. The fact that revenues increased more than sales volumes suggests that the company sold more of its higher profit products, indicating an improved product mix.
Recent research carried by car care company, motoreasy has found that one in eight vehicles has at least one illegal and potentially dangerous tyre. Based on more than 1,000 tyre inspections taken at a number of the company’s approved independent garages across the UK. According to the research a further 24 per cent of tyres had tread so close to the legal requirement, a replacement would be needed “imminently.”
Regionally, Londoners were found to be the worst offenders, with a fifth of the cars tested running on tyres below the legal limit. In contrast, motorists in Scotland had the highest pass rate with only 6 per cent of cars in need of a replacement tyre.
The current legislation requires tread depth to be at least 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the width of the tyre. This rule also applies to the spare tyre. Even so 17 per cent of those inspected were illegal, or would be following what the company describes as “a short usage.”
Quite apart from the obvious safety benefits of having correctly fitted tyres (shorter stopping distances, reduced likelihood of aquaplaning), according to this research, drivers are foregoing the main financial benefit of using safe tyres, i.e. improved fuel economy. Not to mention the legal costs: three penalty points and a fine of up to £2,500 per tyre.
“Added to this, insurance companies are within their rights not to pay out on claims if the vehicle insured is not in a roadworthy condition. It’s shocking that so many motorists seem to ignore the conditions of their tyres – something that should ideally be checked every fortnight,” commented Motoreasy managing director David Gerrans adding: “A simple method of checking the tread is to use a 5 pence coin. Slot an upside down coin into the tread of the tyre and the depth should come up to the top of the Queen’s crown. If you don’t reach the crown, it’s likely your treads are nearing the end of their life and should be replaced.”
If Motoreasy’s research is correct, millions of drivers are failing to meet the minimum legal standard. In light of this, it makes the manufacturers and UK trade associations attempts to introduce a three-millimetre minimum tread depth look a fair way off.
Nokian Tyres Corp has announced that its tyre chain, Vianor AB, has signed a letter of intent to sell its car tyre retreading business to another Swedish company, Mac Ripper AB. The company has not disclosed any financial details pertaining to the deal. In a report published by the AFX news agency, Nokian suggested that Vianor sold the retreading business in order to concentrate on new car and truck tyre sales, tyres. Following the news of the sale, shares in Nokian tyres fell 1.63 per cent to 110.17.
According to German media reports Continental is retreating from its commitment in Russia. All rescue attempts have failed, said chairman Manfred Wennemer in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper: “We did not succeed in finding solutions, that would allow for a prosperous business in the long run.“ Therefore Continental is pulling the plug in Russia. Wennemer continues: “We have agreed with our Russia partner [Moscow Tyre Plant] that we are going to retreat from the joint venture. We are selling our shares of the joint company to MTP and thus ending our excursion in the country.” The retreat from Russia will cost around 30 million euros (£20.7 million), says chairman Wennemer. A part of the cost has already been reported as part of the company’s third quarter expenses. In spite of the Russian upheaval, the automotive supplier and tyre manufacturer is sticking to its positive financial outlook for this year.
South Korea’s largest tyre manufacturer, Kumho Tire, is planning a dual stock market listing in Seoul and either New York or London, the Financial Times has reported. Such a move would be worth more than $1.5 billion, according to the newspaper. The listing is expected to take place in the first half of next year.
Kumho is believed to have hired JPMorgan to manage the sale of at least a third of its shares in a move that could raise more than $500 million. One of the company’s major shareholders, the Military Mutual Aid Association (MMAA), owns 50 per cent of the company and stands to make a 40 per cent return on its original investment.
Kumho and JPMorgan have declined to comment.
Minekazu Fujimura, CEO of Bridgestone Europe has warned that China’s production explosion is causing a severe shortage of steel cord, natural rubber and other raw materials, essential to tyre production.
Mr Fujimara told the Financial Times that the shortage has already driven up tyre manufacturers’ raw material costs by between 10 and 15 per cent, adding that further increases were inevitable. But it isn’t all bad. In the short term, Mr Fujimura conceded, the supply problems were proving to be financially beneficial. So far this year, the leading tyre producers have been able to raise their prices three times in acknowledgment of the rising cost problem.
As a result the big producers have reported improved results. Bridgestone itself has just reported operating income of $983m on sales of $12.6bn in the first three quarters. Goodyear this week reported a profit of $36.1m for the third quarter, its second successive quarterly profit after a long period of losses.
But Mr Fujimara is not resting on his laurels. “The problem is global and there is no escape from it. We have no choice but to pay the premium,” he said adding that the increases are likely to have a wider impact. “They will be working their way through into higher car prices,” said Mr Fujimura.
Ceat has entered the Indian all-steel truck radial market, with products designed and manufactured for the Indian market by Pirelli, Europe. In the 2004/2005 financial year, the company projects a sales turnover in the region of 19.05 billion rupees (approximately £220 million). Ceat says it is eager to tap into the growing truck radial market hoping that eventually 10-15 per cent of its business will come from steel radials.
Currently the use of truck steel radials in India is about two per cent, the is considerably less than neighbouring Pakistan (35 per cent) and a world apart from Europe (90 per cent). The proportion of steel readial in the Indian truck tyre market is projected to touch 10 per cent by 2007, Ceat’s vice-president, sales and marketing, Kalyan K Paul, said.
According to the company, the use of its truck radial products can increase initial mileage by over 50 per cent, achieve fuel savings off up to 10 per cent and provide better traction and braking.
BERU has received a three-year contract for its TPMS systems worth in excess of 80 million euros. The company says it will begin producing for the order “in the middle of 2005” when it will supply pressure monitoring systems for the US market of a European automobile manufacturer’s model. The company has not yet named the manufacturer.
The product will be developed at the BERU Group electronics facility with the first deliveries of the new Tire Safety System (TSS) planned for the middle of 2005, in good time before the relevant US legislation comes into force. BERU reports that the order will contribute between 15 and 20 million to the Group’s total revenues in the 2005/2006 financial year.
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