A 32 per cent drop in net profit for this year has been forecast by Bridgestone Corporation – the result, it says, of rising raw material prices. The anticipated fall in net profit to 90 billion yen (£426.3 million) is paired by a forecast 22 per cent decrease in operating profit to 195 billion yen (£923.7 million).
Toyo Tire & Rubber has released details of business performance for the first three quarters of the financial year ending March 31, 2008. Year on year net sales for the nine months ending December 31, 2007 increased 13 per cent to 272,023 million yen (£1.29 billion), and operating income jumped 55.6 per cent over that earned in the equivalent months of 2006 to 12,951 million yen (£61.3 million). Net income shrank year on year, however, down 18.9 per cent to 6,946 million yen (£32.9 million). This overall net income result reflects the costs incurred through Toyo’s “compliance reporting issue” that was made public in mid-November 2007.
(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Tire Corp. has named Gregg Vandermark performance marketing manager and Rusty Taylor manager of finance and administration in the business division. Vandermark will oversee corporate and consumer ride and drives, dealer training and work with automotive enthusiast groups and car clubs. Vandermark had previously been motorsports sales manager and ultra-high performance sales manager at Toyo.
Taylor, who earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California, will plan and forecast budgets, review proposals, generate financial models and develop business plans for sales, marketing and finance.
The International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) reported during the World Rubber Summit last month in Bangkok that world rubber consumption is now forecast to reach 31.8 million tons by 2020, representing an increase of around 10 million tons compared to 2006. The IRSG underscored the importance of developing better statistics and forecasts. “Industry is in serious need for improved data, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain and derive such statistics,” IRSG officials said. They called on all stakeholders to cooperate with the Group in developing innovative ways to obtain better statistics on all aspects of the rubber industry.
The Kumho Asiana Group, the South Korean family-run conglomerate who own Kumho Tire, said Tuesday it is aiming for 21 trillion won (£11.4 billion) in sales and 1 trillion won in net profit this year.
In a regulatory filing the group predicted its sales will increase 15 per cent over last year’s sales to 21 trillion won, with net profit forecast to reach 1 trillion won.
LSUK is warning that there is likely to be a national shortage of stored energy products during the coming winter months, thanks largely to a sharp rise in the price of lead. The worldwide demand for lead – a vital component in batteries – has substantially exceeded the current stock levels that are available. And that has led to a shortage of batteries as manufacturers have only been able to order minimal, short-term supplies of lead.
(Akron/Tire Review) RMA says that continued economic growth will lead to a 1.7 per cent boost in tread rubber shipments for truck tyre retreads through the end of this year. That forecast falls below 2005’s 1.9 per cent shipment growth rate, RMA said. If the prediction holds, it will mark the fourth consecutive year that shipments increased.
Bridgestone Corporation has revised its full-year financial projections, cutting net income predictions 35 per cent to 65 billion yen (£306 million).
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. says it expects sales in Asia to rise 6 per cent this year compared with an 8.5 per cent increase in 2005, Asia Pacific President Pierre Cohade told Reuters. “We anticipate the industry in Asia to grow 5 per cent this year and we are aiming to gain 6 per cent,” Pierre Cohade said on the sidelines of an American Chamber of Commerce event in Shanghai. Cohade said the forecast was based on a mild slowdown in growth in the China market, one of its major growth drivers.
Deutsche Bank analysts are more optimistic than the management when it comes to predicting future results. The analysts forecast that Sumitomo will achieve 13 per cent more operating profit than the management predicts. “Working off our new…forecasts and historical 12-month valuations we lower our target price from 1,700 yen to 1,500 yen but maintain our Hold rating,” the report commented. “However, we still think it may only just sustain single-digit profit growth given the significant pull impact of rising input costs,” they added.
Sales of cars in China during January were better than expected, according to figures from Deutsche Bank. At 307,000 units, this was a 70 per cent increase year on year, due partly to the pull forward effect of the Chinese New Year. Analysts forecast volume growth during this year of 53 per cent for passenger cars, with a string of new models in the pipeline, including the Honda Civic, Peugeot 206, Citroen C3, Nissan Silphy and MPV.
Yuill & Dodds is one of Scotland’s leading haulage specialists. Established in 1953, the company operates a fleet of more than 200 vehicles, ranging from long-haul artics and tipping trailers to off-road eight-wheel units.
Over the past year, Eurofleet Tyres & Services, the organisation incorporating Bandag’s European fleet initiatives, has worked with the Yuill & Dodds team to provide retreading and reporting systems.
Toyota has forecast that its automobile production will rise by 10 per cent during 2006, to just over nine million vehicles; a figure that could see the company overtake General Motors as the world’s biggest car maker.
Hi-Q, is offering free motoring health checks this winter in an effort avoid the kind of car problems that leave drivers out in the cold. With this winter forecast to be one of the coldest in over a decade, many more demands are going to be made of drivers and vehicles.
The Yokohama Rubber Co, Ltd has announced a 2.3 per cent increase over its initial forecast for the first half of 2006 (1 April 2005 to 30 September 2005). This means the company expects to record 200 billion yen in net sales, 3.5 billion yen increase in ordinary profit (a 133.3 per cent increase) and 13 billion yen in net income (up 8.3 per cent). According to Yokohama, these upward revisions reflect an increase in the volume of sales in the company’s overseas tyre business, profit improvements in North America, and the weaker-than-expected foreign exchange rate of yen.
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