latin Archives - Page 16 of 19 - Tyrepress

Posts

Goodyear To Cut Costs by $1 Billion Over Three Years

Goodyear has said it will cut costs by $750 million to $1 billion in the next three years, taking cash charges of $150 million to $250 million for the restructuring. The company’s share price rose 3 per cent in response. “Our clear goal is to be competitively advantaged in the tyre industry by 2008,” chief executive Robert Keegan said at an investors meeting. “We realise the rising materials, health care costs and inherent cyclicality of sectors in the industry will continue to challenge us.”

27th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Americas Continues Positive Trends

Bridgestone Americas Holding (BSAH/Nashville), subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, announced its financial results for the six month period ending June 30, 2005. At BSAH, first half sales increased 13% over the previous year, to $4.89 billion. Operating income improved over the prior year to $185 million (from $159 million in the first half of 2004, a 16% increase). The improvement in operating income was due to enhanced tyre product and brand mix and increased efficiencies which helped offset unprecedented increases in raw material costs. Net income also rose in the first half of 2005 by 35%, to $138 million from $102 million in the first half of 2004. BSAH benefited from strong growth in its Latin American Operations and in BFS Diversified Products, LLC. BFS Retail & Commercial Operations, LLC also exhibited growth in the first half of 2005.

10th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Earnings Double

Goodyear Tire & Rubber has reported second quarter results which show net income more than doubled to $69 million. The company explained that price increases and an improved product mix helped to offset raw material prices. In addition the favourable impact of currency translation is said to have added about $108 million to the sales total.

5th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

JK Tyre Plans Latin American Production

JK Tyre is looking into the possibility of expanding its bias tyre production by making strategic share acquisitions in Latin America. “The demand for tyres, both in India and the international markets, is at a high. While we are expanding our production capacities in India, we also feel the need to source tyres from other markets to feed the growing demand,” said JK Tyre VC and MD Raghupati Singhania.

At the same time JK Industries’ Mysore plant rolled out its millionth truck radial, marking a milestone for the company. The one-millionth tyre was presented at a function at the former Vikrant Tyres Truck Radial Tyre Plant that was acquired by JK Industries in 1996. Speaking on the occasion, deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah said the government’s decision to divest its stake in Vikrant Tyres had been vindicated. He said the capacity of the plant had increased from 100 tonnes in 1996 to 213 tonnes a day at present.

14th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Reports Record First Quarter Sales

(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co continued posting positive results as its first quarter 2005, earning $68 million in profit against record first quarter sales of $4.8 billion.

The Akron Beacon Journal described the results as a “financial home run,” adding they greatly exceeded estimates from Wall Street analysts. The market watchers had thought Goodyear would earn 1 to 3 cents a share for the quarter ending 31 March. Analysts’ high estimate was 10 cents a share, with the lowest a loss of 2 cents. In fact the profits equated to 35 cents a share.

5th May 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli To Build Specialist Cable Plant in Brazil

Pirelli has started work towards the construction of a special cable factory in the Brazilian State of Espirito Santo (Vila Velha). The “umbilicals” produced will be used in offshore oil platforms, the company says.

3rd May 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

‘Think Before You Drive’

Bridgestone and the FIA have launched a joint global road safety campaign. Designed to help reduce road deaths, the ‘Think Before You Drive’ campaign is due to be launched in May at the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix in Barcelona.

3rd March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Invests

Bridgestone has announced that it will invest 227 billion yen (£1.13 billion) in its global tyre manufacturing business between 2003 and 2007. In the announcement the company explained that is has been operating a kind of five-year investment plan, in order to meet growth in demand. According to a Deutsche Bank report, the company is to invest 88 billion yen (£438 million) in addressing the shift in demand towards high-performance tyres and tyres of large rim sizes.

To meet the increase in demand for passenger car tyres in emerging markets, Bridgestone is investing 49 billion yen (£244 million) in the expansion of its production capacity in Asia and Latin America. The company is also planning to put 50 billion yen (£249 million) towards serving the growing demand for truck and bus tyres and tyres for construction equipment. In addition the company is planning to have spent another 40 billion yen (£199 million) on raw material production expansion by the end of its investment programme.

28th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

21 Per Cent Sales Growth at Bekaert

Last year Bekaert achieved a 21 per cent consolidated sales growth. The total now stands at 2.2 billion euros of which 1.5 billion euros were generated in the “Advanced Wire Products“ business segment. Above average growth mainly took place in developing markets such as Latin America and Asia where the Belgian steel cord supplier managed to achieve a turnover of plus 32 and plus 49 per cent, respectively. Bekaert explains that these positive developments were the result of “organic growth” in 2004, but also acquisitions like the one in Slovakia. The company’s 2004 results will be published in March.

22nd February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone 2004 Net Income Up 29 per cent

Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it achieved a 29 per cent increase in net income during 2004. Total net income rose to $1.1 billion on sales of $23.2 billion, a 5 per cent increase over the prior year. The company reports that operating income rose 8 per cent to $1.9 billion.

In the Americas, Bridgestone Americas Holding (BSAH) has reported that 2004 net sales and net income (profit) were $9.15 billion and $183 million, respectively. The results achieved in 2004 represent a 12 per cent increase in total sales revenue over 2003. According to the company, the 2004 growth is attributable to several factors, including passenger and light truck tyre unit sales, increases in the replacement market, a strong performance in unit sales of truck and bus tyres, and very strong growth in sales in the company’s diversified products and Latin American businesses.

21st February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Confirms Brazil Investment

Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it will invest $160 million in building a new tyre plant. The news follows initial reports from Brazilian newspaper and the Associate Press news agency that the Japanese company was planning to spend $700 million on the project. Confirming parts of the reports, the company said Bridgestone Firestone Brasil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc, would build the plant in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Construction will begin in 2005, and plans call for the plant to begin production in the second half of 2006.

According to the company, Bridgestone Firestone Brazil’s new plant will produce tyres for passenger cars and light trucks. The company says the new plant will have an initial production capacity of about 8,000 tyres a day. It will utilise state of the art production technologies and is expected to create more than 500 new manufacturing jobs and 1,200 indirect jobs in the region. The projects will increase BFBR’s capacity by roughly 25 per cent the company said.

Brazilian car production reached 2,020,704 vehicles for the period between January and November, up 20.8 per cent from the first 11 months of 2003, reflecting the country’s robust recovery from a sluggish 2003, when the economy grew less than 1 per cent. The auto industry’s trade association is predicting an output of 2.2 million vehicles by the end of 2004.

Referring to the $160 million expansion plans, Jorge Gonzalez, president, Bridgestone Firestone Latin American Operations, said: “This substantial new investment is evidence of our optimism in the strength of the Brazilian economy and our belief in our Brazilian team-mates.” Earlier reports which, were later found to be inaccurate, had suggested that the company would be willing to invest an even greater amount.

16th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear’s Increases US Conveyor Belt Production

Flying in the face of suggestions that the US is outsourcing all of its positions abroad, Goodyear has announced that its new belt plant has increased its production capacity, while creating more jobs. In the past year the company has created more than 100 job, increasing its workforce by more than 35 per cent. The company says its expansion is a result of “growing demand from stepped up global mining activity.”

The Marysville plant is currently producing one of the largest orders in the plant’s 37-year history to be shipped to Latin America. The Goodyear Flexsteel ST3600 steel-cord conveyor belt is eight miles long and weighs 1,300 tons. When completed, the order will be shipped to one of the world’s largest open-pit mines located in the Atacama Desert of Chile, which produces copper, gold and silver.

According to Dennis Hare, business manager for Goodyear’s conveyor belt products, the overland belt will transport crushed ore four miles to the mine’s processing plant for separation of metals.

13th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Reports Better Than Expected Results

Goodyear has officially reported third quarter results that show “record sales and positive net income.” According to the company the improved figures were driven by improved operating results in all seven of its business segments.

10th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Bekaert Expects Double Digit Growth for 2004

Bekaert sustained its sales growth across all business segments in the third quarter. However, after making further efforts to manage unpredictable raw material markets, sales prices inevitably grew.

In the first nine months of 2004, Bekaert achieved an increase in consolidated and combined sales of 19 per cent and 17 per cent respectively (1)(2). The consolidated sales’ increase was 20 per cent from organic growth and three per cent from the net movement in acquisitions and divestments, while adverse currency movements amounted to four per cent.

9th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Alliance reports Growth

Alliance has released its second quarter financial results, showing a second straight profitable quarter after a succession of 11 negative quarters. Net income amounted to $1.2 million, compared to a $1.1 million net loss in the parallel quarter of 2003. The figures also showed a 30 per cent growth in sales in the first half of 2004 to $ 63.7 million.

22nd September 2004/by Tyrepress Editors