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Study Shows Nokian Most Productive European Auto Company

According to an article published in the German periodical Manager Magazin, of the 500 largest stock exchange listed companies in Europe, Nokian Tyres is the most productive company in the automotive sector. In its study, the magazine measured the economic success and productivity of Europe’s 500 largest listed companies, with the aim of showing which companies produce wealth for investors and which consume it.

Nokian came out on top in the automotive sector, ahead of Porsche at number two. The company’s nearest ranked direct competitor was Continental, in third place. The automotive sector was but one of 20 categories included in the report, and Nokian Tyres was placed 63rd across the board.

29th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Investment Firm Owns Five Per Cent of Nokian

On 13 November, 2007 Nokian Tyres received an announcement according to which the ownership of Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co LLC has increased from the previous share of 4.96 per cent to 5.02 per cent of the voting rights and share capital in Nokian Tyres as a result of a share transaction concluded on 9 November 2007. Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co LLC now holds a total of 6,191,363 Nokian Tyres’ share which represents 5.02 per cent of the company’s 123,311,910 shares and voting rights.

Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co LLC is a privately held global investment management firm, based in Boston, Mass.

14th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Reports Strong Q3 Sales Growth

Nokian Tyres has reported a 27.9 per cent increase in third quarter net sales, having earned a total of 236 million euros during the three-month period. This gives the company a year to date net sales increase of 25.2 per cent, up from 533.9 million to 668.9 million euros. Operating profit for the quarter was 51.6 million euros, a 39.5 per cent increase on the same period last year. For the nine months of 2007 operating profit is recorded as 140.8 million euros, a sizeable 64.5 per cent rise from last year’s January to September operating profit of 85.6 million euros. Quarterly net profit was 37.4 million euros, a 36 per cent increase on the July-September 2006 profit of 27.5 million euros, and net profit for the nine-month period stands at 107.5 million euros, 81.2 per cent higher than during the same period last year.

Nokian Tyres’ president and CEO Kim Gran commented “the third quarter, in line with the earlier part of the year, was a success for Nokian Tyres. Net sales grew in all profit centres, and the operating profit improved from the previous year both during the third quarter and the period January-September. Sales grew in all key markets, particularly in Russia.

2nd November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Tyres North America President to Retire

In the New Year Dennis Gaede will retire from his position as president of Nokian Tyres North America. His tenure as president, during which time the company’s North American sales grew from US$3 million to $115 million, and 15-year career with Nokian will end as of January 15, and Bernie Del Duca, current vice president of sales, Nokian Tyres North America will take up the position.

The company’s North American operation is also to receive a new managing director. Jan Lepisto, who at present is managing director of Nokian in Sweden, will step into this role.

30th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Tyres Opening First US Vianor Outlets

Nokian Tyres is expanding its Vianor retail chain into the US following the purchase of the Goss Tire Company on October 25. The five tyre outlets in the state of Vermont and one in New York State operated by the US retailer will bring the total number of Vianor outlets in operation up to 340, but will be the first outside of Europe and the former Soviet bloc countries.

The acquisition of Goss Tire enables Nokian to increase its tyre sales and gain access to consumer sales in the US market. Vianor Holding Oy managing director Seppo Kupi said that the company is aiming in the near future to further expand Vianor’s US operations in the area of winter tyres. The 40 people employed by Goss Tire will continue working for the new US Vianor operation.

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Signs JV Agreement in Kazakhstan

After months of speculation about Nokian Tyres’ involvement in a new project in Kazakhstan, the Finnish manufacturer formalised its commitment to establishing a greenfield passenger car tyre factory in this northern Eurasian nation on October 19 through the signing of an agreement with Kazakhstanian multi-industrial company Ordabasy Corporation JSC.

The two parties’ cooperation will take the form of a joint venture company called Ordabasy – Nokian Tyres JSC. Nokian will hold a 10 per cent stake in the joint venture company, with an option to increase ownership to a minimum of 50 per cent.

19th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Boosts its Summer & Winter Line-Ups

The range of products on offer from Nokian Tyres is receiving a boost with the introduction of three new tyre lines. The new tyres have been, according to the Finnish manufacturer, developed for the demanding weather and driving conditions in the Nordic and Russian markets.

Two new summer tyres, the Hakka Z and Hakka SUV, complete Nokian’s Hakka tyre family, the first members of which were released in the spring of 2007. The Hakka Z is a UHP tyre designed for high speed driving, and the new product line includes about 30 W and Y speed rated tyres in sizes between 16 and 20 inches. Sales of the Hakka Z will begin in spring 2008. The other new summer product, the Hakka SUV, is intended for mid-sized city jeeps and all-terrain vehicles, a rapidly growing vehicle segment in the tyre’s target markets. The Hakka SUV range is said to cover the most popular vehicles sold in the Nordic countries, and sales for this product are also scheduled to commence in spring 2008.

20th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Tyres Confirms Kazakhstan Negotiations

Company News, International News

Nokian Tyres has officially confirmed the rumours that it is negotiating a factory project in Kazakhstan. The company reports that negotiations are ongoing, and as of August 24 no agreements have been made. Nokian aims to finalise the negotiation project before the end of the year.

According to previous information supplied to Tyres & Accessories, Nokian tyres may be manufactured at the US$200 million factory being built in the national capital by Kazakhstan’s Ordabasy Corporation. This new plant will have an annual capacity of 4 million tyres when in full production.

24th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian to Build 300 Workers’ Flats near Russian Factory

Employees at the Nokian Tyres factory in Vsevolozhsk, near St Petersburg, will soon have access to affordable accommodation near their place of work. The Finnish tyremaker plans to build seven five-story apartment blocks, containing 300 flats in total, on a 4.5 hectare section of land it has purchased. The flats will be sold to employees at cost price.

The construction of the new accommodation comes at a time of growth for the Vsevolozhsk factory. A 33,000 square metre expansion of the facility is currently underway, and when completed in March 2008 manufacturing capacity will increase over a three-year period from four million to ten million units per annum.

17th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Reports Strong Growth, Especially in Key Markets

Nokian Tyres’ interim report for the period between January and June 2007 was released on August 8, and the figures contained within show sales and profits heading in a welcome direction. In contrast with the figures recorded during the January-June 2006 period, sales increased by 23.8 per cent during the recent half year and totalled 432.5 million euros. Operating profit was 89.2 million euros, up from 48.6 million a year earlier. Net profit, which in January-June 2006 was 31.8 million euros, more than doubled to reach 70.1 million euros. Also more than doubled was earnings per share, which jumped from 0.26 euros to 0.57 euros.

“Nokian Tyres had a clearly better second quarter and first half of the year in 2007 compared to the previous year,” said Nokian president and CEO Kim Gran. “Net sales increased and operating profit improved in all profit centres in the company’s core markets. While most of the increase in sales came from Russia, steep year-over-year sales growth was also recorded in Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries. Passenger car tyre sales mainly consisted of winter tyres, but summer tyres also sold well. The latter were boosted by the Nokian Hakka summer tyre family, which saw its first season in consumer sales. Average tyre prices rose as a result of the improved sales mix, price increases and new products. The benefits gained from manufacturing operations in Russia improved profitability. The outlook for the rest of the year is good and the order book is strong, but sales growth and profit improvement will be more moderate than in the first part of the year.”

8th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Investment Firm Owns Five Per Cent Of Nokian

On 20 July, 2007 Nokian Tyres received an announcement from Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co LLC (GMO), according to which as a result of a share transaction concluded the previous day, their ownership has increased the level of 5 per cent of the voting rights and share capital in Nokian Tyres plc. GMO now holds a total of 6,224,719 Nokian Tyres’ shares, representing 5.06 per cent of the company’s 122,989,620 shares and voting rights.

GMO is a global investment management firm, founded in 1977. Its headquarters are in Boston, with offices in San Francisco, London, Zurich, Singapore and Sydney and the company employs around 350 people worldwide. In March 2007 GMO was managing US$ 145 billion in client assets.

23rd July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kazakhstan Tyre Factory – Update

Reports indicate that the $200 million tyre plant Kazakhstan’s Ordabasy corporation is building in the national capital Astana will be engaged in the manufacture of Nokian tyres. However, as of July 6 staff at Nokian have been unable to confirm this information. The factory will produce 4 million tyres a year when in full production and employ 250 people.

6th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

An Untapped Resource? Nokian’s Kazakhstan factory bid

Editorial/Comment, International News

With news of Chinese product recalls and revised tax rules, some people are looking elsewhere to source their tyres. But if a tyre manufacturing colleague said they were about to expand capacity by entering into an off-take agreement in Kazakhstan, they would probably be met with either a blank “where-exactly-is-that face?” or a stream of Borat-related quips. Joking aside, Nokian Tyres, a company that has made a real success of its niche market approach, has reportedly taken the plunge and broken ground on $200 million-worth of production capacity in Astana, the former Soviet country’s capital city.

Although Nokian staff have not immediately confirmed their involvement in the deal, it would see Nokian gain another low-cost production base to supplement its very successful St Petersburg, Russia operation and – just as importantly – a strong and growing market in which to sell its high quality winter tyres. The winter conditions in Ukraine and Kazakhstan are harsh, making studded tyres popular.

6th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Foundations laid for new Kazakhstan Tyre Factory

Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev has placed time capsules in the foundations of a new tyre plant and two other new projects being initiated in the Astana Industrial Park. The facility is being built by Ordabasy Corporation, and reports indicate it will be engaged in the manufacture of Nokian tyres. The factory will produce 4 million tyres a year when in full production.

Astana, which in the Kazakh language literally means “capital city” is – no surprises here – the capital of Kazakhstan. Astana is also part of a ‘Special Economic Zone’ established in June 2001 to provide more favourable tariff conditions for companies and investors.

4th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Expansion Planned For Nokian Tyres’ St. Petersburg Factory

Nokian Tyres plc and Lemcon Oy, which is part of the Lemminkäinen Group, have signed a contract agreement on the expansion of Nokian Tyres’ plant in St. Petersburg. The contract was signed in Vsevolozhsk on 21 June.

Expansion will begin immediately and will be completed in March 2008. In total, the expansion will comprise approximately 33,000 square metres. Potential production capacity can be increased from the current four million tyres per year up to around 10 million tyres per year. Two new production cells will be installed in the new production premises in 2008 and these will increase the annual production volume to six million tyres. The maximum annual capacity of 10 million tyres will be achieved in 2011. Production machinery will be new and as automated as possible and the increased capacity will call for future investments in an expansion of the mixing plant and machine lines.

26th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors