While seeking to allay fears that Pirelli will miss its targets when the Italian-based tyre manufacturer releases its second quarter figures on Thursday, financial analysts have suggested that Pirelli shares are overweight and that a price correction is “overdue.”
Yokohama Rubber has reported on its environment-related activities at several of the company’s Japanese plants. The various actions Yokohama is undertaking or plans to initiate focus on preserving the biodiversity in each plant’s surrounding area; the company commenced its biodiversity programme at the Mie car and truck tyre factory in the 2011 financial year and extended it to the Shinshiro and Mishima car and light truck tyre plants in the first half of this year. Programmes will get underway at the Ibaraki and Nagano rubber products plants in the second half of 2012.
The latest RMA produced US tyre market shipment figures do not suggest any kind of immediate recovery is on the horizon. According to financial analysts who trawled through the figures, despite the fact that the comparison period wasn’t particularly strong, the market was down 1.5 per cent year-on-year in June. Commercial vehicle tyre shipments saw an even sharper decline (-11 per cent) but this was also described as a tougher comparison.
Delticom issue a profit warning (19 July 2012) after revenues and pre-tax profits (EBIT) came in below expectations. As a result the company reduced its full-year growth target from +10 per cent to +5 per cent year-on-year and stated that an EBIT margin above 9 per cent (compared with 6.9 per cent in the first half of 2012 and 9.4 per cent in the first half of 2011) is only attainable in the event of a good winter tyre season prompted by wintery weather.
Traditionally, financial news from Delticom has centred on unprecedented growth and increased revenues. Not so today. The European online tyre retailer has issued a statement outlining preliminary figures for the first half of 2012, and for once the news isn’t as good as anticipated. Against what the company refers to as a “backdrop of weak summer tyre markets,” Delticom took in revenues of 193.3 million euros in the first half of 2012, a 2.5 per cent year-on-year decrease. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to 13.2 million euros, down 30.9 per cent from the 19.1 million euro EBIT in the first half of last year.
Hankook has confirmed its new status as an official sponsor of the UEFA Europa League. The sponsorship agreement signed between the tyre maker and UEFA Events SA covers the period from 2012 to 2015 and gives Hankook brand exposure through perimeter board advertising in the stadiums and through media backdrops during flash interviews and official UEFA press conferences. Hankook says the new deal demonstrates another milestone in its European marketing approach, through which it aims to sustainably increase brand awareness in this, the company’s largest regional market.
In its results for the quarter ending 31 March 2012, India’s Kesoram Industries reported pushing back the completion date for its Birla Tyres passenger car radial and truck and bus tyre radial projects, but now the pcr capacity expansion project may face further delays. The IANS news service reports comments made by Birla Tyres CEO Arvind Singh on the sidelines of the company’s Annual General Meeting; Singh told journalists that Birla has “not yet decided” when the passenger car project – which through a Rs 7.5 billion (£87.1 million) investment would have given its Balasore plant a daily pcr capacity of 80 tonnes – will be commissioned. “We are considering the present market conditions,” he said.
Off-road tyre manufacturer Mitas has appointed Vladimir Rada its new chief financial officer. Rada is a Czech national who has worked at AcelorMittal Distribution Solutions since 2007 in various finance and controlling related positions. In addition, interim CFO Marek Beran has been appointed head of central logistics, while Mitas’ US investment director Vladimir Dusanek has moved to Prague to oversee central controlling.
India’s tyre industry may be in for a lacklustre few months, reports The Economic Times. According to the financial daily, Indian tyre industry organisation the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association expects orders from original equipment customers to be lower until about October. Association director general Rajiv Budhraja said the ATMA is “concerned about the falling orders from different manufacturers.” In May 2012, car sales grew a modest 2.78 per cent and truck and bus sales dropped 11 per cent. “The weak consumer sentiment in the market has further impacted prospects with some significant drop in demand from the replacement market," Budhraja added.
A report from the global business advisory firm AlixPartners says that, while the global automotive industry overall remains a growth industry, the Western European industry is facing the prospect of its second severe market downturn in recent years.
Bridgestone Americas recently announced that Tim Walsh, who previously served as Bridgestone Americas corporate controller, has been named chief information officer for the company. Walsh will be responsible for overall leadership of Bridgestone’s IT function, including making enhancements to the company’s IT organisation and overseeing strategy and implementation to ensure efficient delivery of IT services.
Market figures released by Pirelli yesterday show Europe continues to be at home to lackluster tyre sales. According to the Italian manufacturer’s data, original equipment passenger car tyre market volumes in May 2012 declined 13 per cent year-on-year, while the replacement segment experienced a ten per cent year-on-year drop. Year to date, volumes in the original equipment and replacement markets have declined seven per cent and 13 per cent respectively. Pirelli’s May figures support data released by Michelin on 13 June; the French tyre maker reported that Europe’s original equipment passenger car tyre market sank 12.2 per cent during May, while the replacement market declined 6.8 per cent.
"It is encouraging that new truck and van sales increased in May with the overall market up 10 per cent in comparison to the same month last year” said Sue Robinson, Director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT’s van and truck registration figures. Robinson continued "Van sales improved in May, for the first time in 2012, up 6.7 per cent.
The FTA backed campaign FairFuelUK has been recognised for its tireless work in lobbying the Government in order to stop planned fuel duty increases and fight for lower fuel prices. In the same week that the campaign sees MPs from various political parties uniting at Westminster in an urgent call to scrap the August 3p fuel duty rise, the organisation created by Peter Carroll Associates won the prestigious CIPR 2012 Excellence Award for Public Affairs which applauded the organisation's work and credited its achievements in the category which acknowledged 'a campaign designed to inform the public policy agenda or influence the legislative process.'
On 30 May, Yokohama held an opening ceremony for its new passenger car tyre plant in Russia. The facility, located in the Lipetsk Special Economic Zone and operated by Yokohama R.P.Z., was built with an investment of 4.8 billion roubles (£94.8 million) and is scheduled to reach full operation in the summer of 2013. Further additions will be made to the plant’s production capacity in stages, Yokohama reports. Products made in the new plant include the "C.drive2" and the studded "ice Guard iG35" winter tyre, both of which are core Yokohama products in the Russian market. These tyres will be manufactured in 13 to 18-inch rim diameter sizes and mainly sold in Russia, with some exports going to Europe.
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