A buyer for Vredestein Banden has been found. In a written statement released on April 1, holding company Amtel-Vredestein N.V. says it has received a “binding offer from an industry player” for the purchase of the total share capital of Vredestein Banden BV. According to company CEO Rob Oudshoorn, the agreement is “very binding”, and it is “highly unlikely” that an acquisition of Vredestein shares would fail.
Yokohama Rubber has announced it will record a 2.9 billion yen (£20.4 million) loss on the revaluation of investment securities during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. Company management is analysing the loss in the context of Yokohama’s overall financial performance and will determine whether the loss mandates a revision of the company’s fiscal projections.
In publishing the Trelleborg Group’s 2008 annual report, company president and CEO Peter Nilsson has commented that Trelleborg faces major challenges, but it can draw strength from its enhanced market positions. “2008 was a turbulent year in many ways,” said Nilsson. “An economic slowdown was anticipated by many, but nobody could foresee how rapid it would be. Following a favourable trend in the first three quarters of 2008, the downturn in the fourth quarter was dramatic.
The Supervisory Board of Continental AG has unanimously elected Rolf Koerfer its new chairman at its March 27 extraordinary meeting in Hanover, Germany. The 51-year-old thus succeeds Dr. Hubertus von Grünberg, who resigned on March 6.
Prominent European online tyre dealer Delticom AG reports closing its 2008 fiscal year with a record result. Despite a disappointing year for the tyre industry and for tyre retailers, Delticom’s online business model has again exhibited strong growth. The company recorded significantly increased sales in nearly all of its more than 100 online shops in 35 countries. This is reflected in year-on-year rise in revenues in each quarter. In the fourth quarter alone, revenues of 84.0 million euros were achieved, up from 69.5 million euros in the corresponding quarter of 2007. For the whole year, Delticom increased revenues year-on-year by 20.2 per cent to 259.0 million euros. With these results, Delticom hit the upper end of the revenue targets the company released at the beginning of the last year.
In an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel, Schaeffler Group co-owner, Georg Schaeffler, indicated that the company has already submitted a restructuring plan to creditor banks. Pressure has been mounting for Schaeffler to release it plans to both the government and its creditors after the automotive supplier borrowed 16 billion euros to finance last year’s takeover of Continental AG. It is now struggling to make the high debt service payments it committed to, as a result of the credit crunch’s effect on vehicle manufacturers, and so has reportedly been considering a wide variety of refinancing and restructuring, including a debt-for-equity swap that could see the family owned business barter a significant stake with the banks.
However, despite suggestions that the plan had been circulated to the appropriate parties, and hopes that the government “will respond quickly…to avoid being drawn into the election campaigns,” some banking sources told Financial Times Deutschland that the plans are as yet incomplete: “There are several short papers with fragmentary statements, but as a basis for decision making these papers are not suitable.”
In the US, Goodyear agreed on Friday to a ten-year guarantee on the 1,400 jobs situated at its Topeka, Kansas plant in exchange for $14.2 million in state financing. The additional funds are to be used to support the refurbishment of the outdated production machinery housed at the plant. Previous reports had put the figure requested by Goodyear at $37.5 million, with the tyre maker wanting to invest $250 million in the proposed refitting.
The commerce secretary David Kerr – who had voiced concerns at the size of the initial figure – stated to the Topeka Capital-Journal that the Kansas state Impact programme would support the issuance of incentive bonds for Goodyear’s benefit. The debt will be repaid through revenue generated by the company’s state payroll tax, he said.
Plimsoll analysts have announced a new report suggesting that the UK tyres, exhausts and batteries industry is rife with opportunity, despite a record number of companies losing money, and overall business values plummeting to the extent that almost half are now worth less than half their value of 12 months ago. The new study suggests that the current economic downturn represents “one of the biggest opportunities in a generation, if you have the courage and the capital.”
The study rates each of the UK’s leading 1,000 tyres, exhausts and batteries companies on their acquisition attractiveness, finding 103 companies “ripe for the picking” based on a combined scoring system incorporating overall financial strength, ownership, valuation and future potential. These 103 companies are all privately owned, yet are showing a serious deterioration in the financial performance. Given the reluctance of the banks to lend more, their time, money and options are running out.
Plastics & Rubber Weekly has reported that Lanxess is to press on with its development of reduced rolling resistance tyres including the rubber additive nanoprene, which is said to reduce wear without a similar reduction in grip. The plastics news source reports from Dusseldorf that Lanxess chairman Axel Heitmann told journalists at the company’s annual press conference on Tuesday 18 March that the company was well placed to deal with financial problems such as the 32 per cent decline in volume experienced by Lanxess’ performance polymers business.
The Schaeffler Group has appointed Klaus Rosenfeld (42) to the company’s executive management board (effective 18 March 2009) where he will assume the post of chief financial officer (CFO). Prior to joining Schaeffler, Klaus Rosenfeld was a member of the management board of Dresdner Bank AG from 2002 and was responsible for the areas Finance/Controlling, Compliance und Corporate Investments.
According to Reuters Rosenfeld is had been expected to step down from Dresdner Bank following its takeover by Commerzbank earlier this year. Rosenfeld replaces Thomas Hetmann (46) who the company announced was stepping down on 18 February. Schaeffler Group thanked Mr. Hetmann for his “hard work and dedication to the company.”
Bridgestone Americas has announced that 2009 will be its last season of involvement in the AMA Supercross and Motocross season, due to finish in September. The decision was made due to the worldwide financial crisis, the company said in a statement, while the door was left open for a return in the future. The decision ends an 18-season supply agreement for the series.
Bob Graham, BATO’s senior manager, motorcycle products was keen to let competitors know that the company remained committed to its 2009 season. “While we have made this decision somewhat early in the season, rest assured that riders on Bridgestone brand tyres can expect the same level of performance and service throughout 2009 to which they have been accustomed,” he said. “Even though we are ceasing our involvement for the time being, the Bridgestone brand has left an indelible mark in the world of off-road motorcycle racing,” concluded Graham.
Pirelli chairman and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera has stated that the company should reach the end of 2009 with a profit, Reuters is reporting. Quoted by a spokesperson at a company presentation in Milan, Tronchetti Provera said, “We are fairly optimistic that in 2009 things will change. The market is moving, the measures taken in 2008 and being carried out in 2009 are producing results.”
Thanks to a major restructuring process mainly involving the company’s real estate division and the general global financial turmoil, Pirelli finished 2008 with a net loss of 412.5 million euros, though recent stock performance has seen a small upturn in the past week.
A new financial and strategic report on Pirelli has been made available by analysts Companies and Markets. The firm promises to present “an in-depth business, strategic and financial analysis of Pirelli, providing “a comprehensive insight into the company, including business structure and operations, executive biographies and key competitors. The hallmark of the report is the detailed strategic analysis and views on the company.”
In addition to the provision of a “one-stop-shop” to understanding Pirelli, the review offers a financial, strategic and operational SWOT analysis; business structure, history and product information; and “financial ratios for the past five years as well as interim ratios for the last four quarters,” including profitability, margins and returns, liquidity and leverage, financial position and efficiency.
Stamford Tyres Corporation has reported double digit falls in both third quarter revenues (S$62.9 million, £29.2 million – down 21 per cent) and period gross profits (S$15.8 million, £7.34 million – down 16.6 per cent). The biggest quarterly fall was in the company’s net profits after tax, which fell to just S$100,000 (£46,426), down 94.9 per cent compared with the same period in the company’s 2008 financial year. Stamford puts the marked drops it experienced down to the “deteriorating business environment resulting from the global economic crisis.” Nevertheless the company evidently did turn a profit and continues to record healthy gross profit margins in excess of 20 per cent (2009:25.1 – 2008:23.8).
For the nine months ended 31 January 2009 revenue was S$227.6 million (£105.6 million), down 6.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2008. Gross profit for the first three quarters of the 2009 fiscal year was S$54.6 million (£25.3 million), comparable to what was achieved at the same point in 2008 (down 1.8 per cent to be precise). However, according to the company “most key territories in Stamford Tyres’ marketing network continued to perform satisfactorily.”
Only two UK-based car manufacturers have applied for European financial support, leading the Financial Times to conclude that the British automotive sector is being slow in applying. According to FT, cabinet ministers don’t want UK-based companies to miss out on European Investment Bank funding which is said to be unlikely to exceed 7 billion euros (£6.5 billion), significantly less than the 40 billion euros the industry had previously sought. This is in addition the government’s £2.5 billion automotive support package, which includes £1.3 billion of guarantees to back loans from the European Investment Bank and £1 billion of guarantees for other loans.
According to the FT, Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover have both applied for EIB financing to support research and development work. Jaguar said it was waiting for Wednesday’s meeting to get details of the non-EIB guarantees. Neither General Motors nor Ford Motor had yet applied for EIB-backed loans in the UK, the companies said.
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