India
The organisation representing India’s tyre makers has petitioned the country’s Finance Ministry to review its regional trade agreements and the duties charged under them. In a memorandum, the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association reiterated its long-standing claim that domestic manufacturers are being harmed by a double whammy of cheap, imported tyres and heavily-taxed raw material imports.
Apollo Tyres Ltd’s board of directors has approved the expansion of truck-bus radial capacity at the Chennai plant from present levels of 6000 tyres per day to 8900 tyres per day. According to the company this move stems from the fact that the Chennai plant is outperforming projections.
JK Tyre & Industries reports a 29 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit for its 2013-14 financial year. During the 12-month period between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014, the Indian tyre maker achieved turnover of Rs 82.8 billion (£833.7 million), nine per cent higher than in the prior financial year. Operating profit was up 41 per cent to Rs 8.9 billion (£89.6 million) while pre-tax profit grew 42 per cent to Rs 3.5 billion (£34.9 million). The 29 per cent expansion in the company’s bottom line brought net profit to Rs 2.6 billion (£26.5 million). The company has announced a 50 per cent equity share dividend.
Slovakian news sources are reporting that Apollo has chosen Hungary over Slovakia for the site of its new 500 million euro tyre factory. According to the reports, is was “the business environment in Slovakia” pushed the manufacturer towards the other site when choosing from a shortlist of two.
Apollo Tyres’ board has approved plans to build a new tyre factory in “Eastern Europe”, with 500 million euros earmarked for the project. According to the company, the greenfield project will see the tyre manufacturer invest half a billion euros over the next years, funded by “accruals and debt at the company’s European subsidiary”. The capacity is expected to be 16,000 passenger car radial (PCR) tyres a day and 3000 truck and bus radials a day.
Annual and final quarter results for Apollo Tyres’ 2013-14 fiscal year, which ended on 31 March, show a solid increase in net profit for the India-headquartered tyre maker. In the 12 months between the start of April 2013 and the end of March 2014, the company achieved net sales of Rs 133.1 billion (£1.3 billion); this represents year-on-year sales growth of four per cent. Full-year operating profit rose 19 per cent over the previous year to Rs 19.7 billion (£197.2 million), while operating profit margin rose from 12.1 per cent to 14.8 per cent. Net profit jumped 64 per cent year-on-year to Rs 10.1 billion (£101.1 million).
Continental has announced its intention to purchase the outstanding shares in the 50/50 Emitec Gesellschaft für Emissionstechnologie mbH joint venture it operates with partner, Worcestershire-based GKN plc. Once the acquisition of the 50 per cent share currently held by GKN is complete, the business will be integrated into Continental’s Powertrain division. With the acquisition of Emitec and the deal’s approval, Continental will emerge as a supplier of exhaust aftertreatment systems. Continental has not stated the price it will pay for the remaining share in Emitec.
During the first quarter of the 2014 fiscal year, Michelin experienced a 3.4 per cent rise in volumes, with fast original equipment segment momentum and growth in the truck tyre business, while weak mining tyre sales were offset by growth in aviation and two-wheel tyre business within the specialty tyre segment. This increase in volumes did not translate to higher net sales, however.
Overall Michelin Group sales declined 2.4 per cent year-on-year to €4.76 billion.
New and returning drivers in what is described as being one of the world’s most cost-effective single seat motorsport categories are heading to Silverstone this weekend for the opening rounds of the 2014 BRDC Formula 4 Championship. As was the case during last year’s inaugural season, the control tyre for 2014 will be provided by Yokohama.
The prices of shares in Indian tyre manufacturers have fallen back after rallying last week prior to the Easter weekend. According to local news sources, the shares of tyre companies plunged by up to 8 per cent each. The fact that one of the largest domestic tyre makers, MRF, reported a decline in net profit for the quarter ended March 2014 was said to have been the main precipitating factor.
The share prices of India’s leading tyre companies surged in value on Good Friday prior to the Easter weekend. Overall shares of Indian tyre companies shot up by up to 17 per cent, accompanied by heavy volumes reportedly due to “expectations of higher revenue growth during the current fiscal”, according to local news sources. Apollo Tyres, Ceat, Goodyear India, JK Tyre Industries, Balkrishna Industries and TVS Srichakra all rose by between 4 and 17 per cent each on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) during Friday’s trading.
Brand growing fast through enhanced marketing activities, range expansion A decade after the brand was born during an informal post-show meeting atReifen Essen 2004, this year Infinity Tyres celebrated a decade of business in Europe by taking its partners to Northern India, a trip which executive director Harjeev Kandhari took responsibility for down to the […]
MRF Tyres has launched a new aircraft tyre, the MRF Aeromuscle, and will supply this as the main wheel fitment for the Indian Air Force’s more than 200-strong fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter planes. The tyres are produced at the company’s Hyderabad factory and are said to be 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than their imported equivalent. The Indian Air Force sought out a local tyre supplier for the Su-30 due to difficulties sourcing the tyres overseas. MRF has now also been given a mandate to design nose wheel tyres for the aircraft.
During the financial year before last, the Brazilian Iochpe-Maxion Group (the parent company of Maxion wheels) bought Hayes Lemmerz for approximately US$725 million. The acquisition came after the world’s largest wheel manufacturer put down two bankruptcies during the first part of the new millennium, and thus had large amounts of debt to contend with. Eventually the company’s investors finally ran out of patience leaving the obvious question – what has happened to the car aluminium wheel division since then?
Michelin is working with Indian Angel Network (IAN), a New Delhi-based organisation that brings together entrepreneurs and start-up/early stage ventures, in a joint initiative to assist entrepreneurs in creating innovative mobility solutions for a more efficient delivery of produce from farm to market. The initiative, named Farm to Market Logistics (F2ML), is an incubator managed by IAN and supported by Michelin. It seeks ideas that will reduce waste in the food supply chain through new practices, behaviours and solutions.
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