Nokian Tyres
Workers at the Nokian Tyres factory in the company’s Finnish hometown are scheduled to stage a one-day walkout on September 23. According to Petri Sorvali, chief shop steward at the factory, the walkout will be held in protest against the company's restructuring programme.
Nokian Tyres, Inc. has announced that its University Wholesalers subsidiary has purchased Maine Wholesale Tire, a Portland, Maine based tyre distributor. Local news sources report that one of the former owners of Maine Wholesale Tire will remain as management staff to ensure a smooth transition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The new entity will now operate under the University Wholesalers name, according to a press release.
“The operation gives us a much stronger presence in Maine and will enable us to improve levels of service to our dealers there and also in southern New Hampshire and eastern Massachusetts,” said Jari Lepisto, General Manger Nokian Tyres, Inc.
Nokian Tyres, Inc. is the North American subsidiary of Nokian Tyres Plc., Finland. The company employs 135 people and services over 1500 retailers (including 12 Vianor branches) in North America.
Nokian has introduced new sizes of two "green" high performance winter tyres, which the company says are its safest yet – the WR G2 and, for SUVs, the W RG2 SUV. The WR G2, says Nokian, is particularly effective against "slush-planing" and aquaplaning and offers a shorter braking distance in the wet as well as improved snow grip. Its eco credentials include reduced fuel consumption, thanks to the tyre's reduced rolling resistance, plus it has a longer tread life. Three new 15" and 16" sizes have been added to the WR G2 range, which now comprises 67 sizes for rims from 14" to 20" and speed ratings from T to W.
Nokian Tyres will move its headquarters from LaVergne, Tennessee, to Colchester, Vermont, in an effort to consolidate its operations. The relocation, which the company expects will be finalised by spring 2010, will place the headquarters near Nokian’s wholesale operation, University Wholesalers Inc. Nokian Tyres, the North American subsidiary of Finland-based Nokian Tyres P.L.C., also owns […]
Sales at Nokian Tyres decreased 34.6 per cent to 346.7 million euros in the half year between January and June 2009, and operating profit went down along with it; the company reports a 86.4 per cent decline in operating profit to 17.5 million euros. Net income during the half-year amounted to just 346.7 million euros, supported by a more robust second quarter in which profits of 191.1 million euros were generated.
Finland’s Cimcorp has long held the desire to develop a tyre factory in which every stage of the operation – from tyre assembly to final shipping – was automated. This idea has formed the core of the company’s so-called “dream factory” concept, and Cimcorp reports that in the past year this dream has become reality.
The company’s path towards a fully automated tyre plant began some time ago, and outside the tyre industry.
The Nokian Hakkapeliitta truck tyre family is being expanded through the introduction of the Hakkapeliitta Truck F, a truck and bus steer tyre designed for winter conditions. The Truck F extends the range that began with the Truck E drive tyre a year ago and enables users to equip their entire vehicle with tyres from the Hakkapeliitta line-up.
According to Nokian, the development goal its designers applied was to introduce the world’s best winter steer tyre. The manufacturer reports that this multipurpose tyre comes into its own on medium to long-haul usage, and while it is at home on main arterial routes and motorways it can easily cope with winding, narrow roads.
Actual interim results for the January to March 2009 quarter show Nokian Tyres’ operating income to be even lower than the figure anticipated by a Reuters analyst poll. The company’s interim report, released May 7, reveals an EBIT of minus 2.7 million euros for the quarter, down from 54.4 million a year earlier. The mean estimated EBIT calculated from a Reuters survey of eleven analysts was four million euros. Net sales during the quarter stood at 155.6 million euros, 36.8 per cent lower year-on-year. A net loss of 10.4 million euros was recorded in the quarter, contrasting with a net profit of 45.1 million euros in the first quarter of 2008. The analysts surveyed by Reuters anticipated a net loss of seven million euros.
”Nokian Tyres’ first quarter net sales went down to the level of the corresponding period in 2006,” noted company president and CEO Kim Gran. “Nokian Tyres did not make profit in the first quarter due to low sales, operative streamlining measures, currency devaluation on our main markets, and the seasonal weakening in our sales mix. We took strong actions to adjust our preseason sales and production to the changed market conditions.
At the Nokian Tyres’ Annual General Meeting, held on April 2, company president and CEO Kim Gran announced that first quarter 2009 net sales are clearly lower than in the first quarter of 2008 and a net loss is expected. On a more positive note, Gran estimates that the first quarter will be the weakest of the year, and Nokian Tyres’ sales will increase during the other quarters. Full year net sales in 2009 will, however, be weaker than in 2008.
Last year proved to be Nokian Tyres’ 17th consecutive year of profitable sales growth, the company president and CEO told AGM attendees. Net sales of 1.08 billion euros for the financial year ending December 31, 2008 represent a 5.5 per cent increase on 2007 results, and operating profit increased a similar amount
Sales at Nokian Tyres increased 5.5 per cent in the twelve months to December 31, 2008, totaling 1.08 billion euros for the year. During the final quarter of the 2008 year, however, sales slumped 24.9 per cent to 267.7 million euros. Annual operating profit, at 247.0 million euros, was also up 5.5 per cent, however during the final quarter it more than halved to 46.5 million euros. Net profit for the 12 months amounted to 139.9 million euros, 17.2 per cent less than in 2007. Nokian Tyres reports a net loss of 11.6 million euros for the final quarter.
Amongst the announcements made upon the public release of the Nokian Tyres 2008 financial statement is news that the company’s joint venture in Kazakhstan has been put on hold. The project with Ordabasy Corporation, agreed upon in 2007, has been paused by mutual agreement, Nokian reports. The company adds that the project may be re-launched, at the earliest, in late 2010. An agreement has been made to return an advance payment of 12 million euros, made for technical support, to Ordabasy.
Nokian Tyres is introducing a new Hakkapeliitta winter tyre. Called the Hakkapeliitta 7, the studded tyre has been developed for demanding and quickly changing winter conditions. Nokian says the tyre, which replaces the Hakkapeliitta 5, combines its winter properties with driving comfort. Driving comfort was chosen as an essential target for improvement, the Finnish manufacturer adds, and has been enhanced without compromising levels of grip.
Nokian Tyres reports that its fourth quarter sales have been “weaker than expected” and the company’s operating profit will be lower than the set target. The company says it will not reach its previously communicated sales target for 2008 of 1,150-1,200 million euros. This downward revised estimate comes in spite of an anticipated five per cent growth in group net sales during 2008, and operating profit that is estimated to be on the previous year’s level.
Nokian Tyres has today begun new statutory negotiations in order to adjust operations and to cut personnel by approximately 450 people at its Nokia factory in Finland, due to the decreased demand for tyres. The agenda of the negotiations includes a plan to change the working model of the car tyre production from the current continuous three-shift/seven days work to the discontinued three-shift/five days operations and to re-organise operations. This would result in the annual production capacity at the Nokia factory to fall from the current 6 million or so tyres to around 4.5 million tyres in 2009.
The discontinued three-shift work and the re-organisation measures would create a need to cut personnel by some 450 people, of which approximately 100 would be white-collar personnel. The aim is to carry out part of the personnel cuts by pension arrangements and other voluntary solutions.
The new factory working model and re-organisations would reduce Nokian Tyres’ costs in Nokia by around 30 million euros.
Across many industries, including our own, 2008 will be long remembered for its spate of raw material price increases and their knock-on effect. Although these prices had by mid-November retreated from their earlier record highs, across the board they left eroded profits in their wake – and consumers smarting from the increases tyre manufacturers in turn slapped upon their products.
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