At Nokian Tyres’ Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts in Helsinki, Finland, president and CEO Ari Lehtoranta expressed confidence that the company has started its “journey back to profitable growth.” Focusing on Nokian’s strategy and financial targets, the manufacturer also made no changes to its previous guidance for 2015; the company’s results have shown contraction throughout the year.
At the end of October Nokian Tyres changed its operational structure to “strengthen the company’s product and innovation leadership, end-to-end supply operations and sales and distribution management”. The move also follows the departure of one of the firm’s senior executives. According to Nokian, the former head of Passenger car tyre operations, Rami Helminen, has decided to leave the company and “continue his career elsewhere”. Rami Helminen was appointed as Nokian vice president, Car and Van Tyres nine years ago, a role he took on on 1 March 2006.
Having reduced a field of 51 to 19, Auto Bild announced that three of the winter tyres tested had made it all the way to the top of the German magazine’s rankings, picking up “exemplary” ratings. Continental’s WinterContact TS 850, Pirelli’s Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3, and the Barum Polaris 3 were the best performers, according to Auto Bild’s testers, who ranked the tyres based on their performance on snowy, wet and dry roads and their cost. The tests were performed on a VW Polo, with the tyres sized 185/60R15 T.
Nokian Tyres has reported third quarter 2015 sales of 311 million euros, down 5.1 per cent on the previous year. Looking at the first nine months of the year, the firm achieved sales of 1.009 billion euros, down 7.1 per cent. Operating profit, however, rose by 0.3 per cent to 72.4 million euros, resulting in an operating margin of 23.3 per cent in 2015 (the prior year figure was 22 per cent). In the first three quarters operating profit amounted to 201.2 million euros now.
Nokian’s Weatherproof All-Weather, WR SUV 3, and WR D4 tyres have performed well in the latest round of consumer tyre testing. Most recently the tyres have respectively achieved the best performance on snow and in the wet in Auto Zeitung’s all-season tyre test 2015, the Off Road and SUV magazine winter tyre test 2015 top spot, and the “very recommendable” rating in Auto Zeitung’s winter tyre test. The all-weather product has also been lauded by the UK’s Auto Express and Germany’s VOX TV show, Auto Mobil 2015.
German magazine, Offroad has “highly recommended” four out the five 4×4 winter tyres tested on snow, ice, wet, and dry surfaces. Mounted in size 245/65 R17 H on Volkswagen’s Amarok Canyon, the Goodyear Ultra Grip+ SUV, Nankang Winter Activa SV-55, Nokian WR SUV 3, Michelin Latitude Alpin LA2, and Pirelli Scorpion Winter participated in the […]
Victory has gone to Nokian Tyres in both the studded and non-studded categories of the winter tyre test conducted by Finnish publication Tekniikan Maailma (World of Technology). The test of 12 studded size 205/55 R16 tyres and eight non-studded 205/55 R16 tyres appeared in issue (17/2015) and saw the Nokian tyres pitted against a range of premium, mid-range and budget tyres.
In its annual winter tyre performance survey, German motoring publication AutoBild narrows a wide field of 49 winter tyres and two all-season tyres with wet and snow braking measurements before conducting a full test of a range of characteristics. 19 tyres made it through to the 2015/16 season test, conducted using the tyre size 185/60 R15.
Auto Express has named the Nokian Weatherproof as its number one all-season car tyre in its survey of the segment. Testing a modest six tyres at Nokian’s test centre in Ivalo, Finland for winter conditions and at Contidrom, Germany for summer conditions, the test was a first for the magazine, highlighting the growth trend Tyrepress.com has noted in the UK market for such products. The Nokian Weatherproof was declared the test winner, and an Auto Express ‘Best Buy’, perhaps unsurprisingly sweeping away the competition in the winter tests (the winter rubber specialist uses Test World to test its tyres). The test’s most notable omission is Michelin’s self-professed “game-changer”, the 2015 launched CrossClimate. The French manufacturer has responded hawkishly to references to the new product as an all-season tyre despite its year-round applicability, though tyre test coordinator Kim Adams noted that its March 2015 launch was “just too late” for the tyre to be included.
Nokian Tyres plc has announced the final results of the tender offer related to its outstanding €150 million 3.25 percent senior unsecured notes issued on 19 June 2012 (FI4000046370). The offer period expired two days ago and the aggregate principal amount of notes validly offered for purchase by noteholders came to €62.3 million, an amount representing 41.53 per cent of the whole amount of all the notes.
The new, 3PMSF-marked all-season tyre range that Nokian Tyres first gave word of earlier this year is now available. The Nokian Weatherproof covers 13 to 18-inch fitments and is produced in T, H and V speed ratings, while the Weatherproof SUV can be obtained in 16 to 19-inch fitments and H and V speed ratings. The Weatherproof C is aimed at vans and light commercial vehicles, and Nokian says a large line-up of tyres are available for 14 to 16-inch rim diameters and R to T speed ratings. The Weatherproof C range also includes various tread patterns for larger vehicles and extra load versions.
Nokian has released the new NTR 74S, which is designed for “safe travel under all weather conditions, all year round”. The tyre is optimised for use on main roads and it is primarily intended for trailers, but it is also said to be suitable for use on the steer axle. The Nokian NTR 74S is 3PMSF approved and is aimed at use on the varying conditions of the Nordic countries, Central Europe and Russia.
It is hard to believe that little more than two years have passed since Nokian Tyres predicted the market for premium tyres in Russia would grow by an average of ten per cent each year, and even harder to grasp that as recently as 2012 the Russian and CIS markets accounted for 35 per cent of the tyre maker’s total net sales.
The the economic situation in Russia and the CIS countries has led to a downgrade in Nokian Tyres’ 2015 outlook. The Finnish tyre maker says sales of passenger car tyres have continued to decline in this region, and those tyres being purchased within the Russian market are increasingly lower B or C segment brand products. The company’s own sales in Russia were down 39.1 per cent year-on-year during the first half of 2015.
The Hakka Truck tyre range from Nokian Tyres has been expanded to include drive axle fitments. The first two sizes in the Nokian Hakka Truck Drive line-up, 315/70 R22.5 and 315/80 R22.5, are being introduced throughout Europe in spring and summer 2015, and a size 295/80 R22.5 fitment will be added next year.
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