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Bridgestone To Take Stake In Finnish Rival

Bridgestone has agreed to purchase two million Nokian Tyres shares from Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia for 78.34 million Euro (US$84.89 million). Representing a 18.9 per cent stake in the Scandinavian company, Bridgestone says the deal is purely a financial investment. “At this point it is a business investment. We see a lot of potential synergies and we want to build on those,” Bridgestone Europe Vice President Des Collins said, adding that Bridgestone had been in contact with Nokian management before agreeing to take the stake. His company was interested in Nokian because of its strong position in the Nordic countries and its know-how in the winter tyre market. Bridgestone agreed to purchase Nokian shares for 39.17 Euro per share. Nokian, the Nordic region’s largest tyre maker, said in a statement the transaction was conditional upon approval by the German antitrust authorities.

24th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Winter Tyre With Rape-Seed Oil

Nokian has developed a new winter tyre, the Hakkapeliitta 4, which features a tread compound that incorporates environmentally-friendly rape seed oil. The tyre has 14 rows of studs and great attention was paid to these. Tests show that a square stud shape was more durable, provided better grip (8 per cent better than the previous tyre) and was less likely to work loose, as well as being less damaging to roads. The tyre is aimed at the Nordic and Russian markets.

14th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Launches Studded Tyre

Nokian has launched the Hakkapeliitta 4, a new studded, winter tyre, for the Nordic and Russian markets. The tyre incorporates new stud technology, called Nokian Eco Stud System 4, which has a patent pending. In addition, the tread compound incorporates rape seed oil, which Nokian says improves grip properties.

28th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian and Matador To Commence Contract Manufacturing

Company News, International News, News

Nokian Tyres plc and Matador AS are signing a contract manufacturing agreement. This transaction will mean that Matador will produce Nokian branded speed categories S, T, and H car summer tyres at its factory in Slovakia. The tyres will be sold in Eastern European markets. The production target for 2003 is 100 thousand Nokian tyres with initial sales taking place during the first quarter of the year. Volume manufacture will increase to 300 thousand tyres by the end of 2005.Through contract manufacturing Nokian will continue to ensure its growth potential in Eastern Europe. Production capacity at the company’s factory in Finland will be freed to produce ultra high performance tyres. The agreement will be valid until the end of 2005 and after that on a one-year basis.

15th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian And Amtel Sign Joint Venture Agreement

Nokian and Russian company Amtel Holdings have formally signed the joint venture agreement to produce and sell passenger and light truck tyres in Russia and CIS countries under the Nordman and Amtel brands. 900,000 tyres will be produced next year and 3,600,000 the year after. Upgrades of Amtel factories will require investments of US$ 25 million and the two partners intend to build a greenfield factory in Russia to produce premium tyres under the Nokian brand. The target is an annual production of 1.2 million tyres within three years of the start of the project.

30th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Sales Up Too At Nokian

Nokian’s 3Q net sales were up 11.1 per cent at 117.9 million Euros, but higher fixed costs affected operating profit, which was 15.2 million Euros (3Q 2001: 18.6 m). 51 per cent of Nokian’s income comes from car tyres and 63 per cent is generated in Scandinavia and Finland. Sales of heavy tyres and bicycle tyres both rose, but sales of retreading materials fell. Vianor, Nokian’s retail chain, showed an increase in sales of 14.4 per cent, but operating profit was similar to 3Q last year.

26th October 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

High Performance Tyres From Nokian

Nokian Tyres has developed two new high performance summer tyres, tailored for Central Europe, the USA and Nordic countries, and which will go on sale next spring. The NRVi is a V-rated tyre available in 19 sizes and features an info field near the bead area – the tyre fitter marks the field with the correct inflation pressure for the driver’s convenience. The second tyre, the NRY, is Z-rated (maximum speed 300 km/hr) and comes in six sizes, which correspond to OE sizes of many luxury cars.

28th August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts Cautious On Nokian

Nokian’s shares have risen 12 per cent over the past three months and, for the year as a whole, have risen slightly against an 11 per cent general decline in the auto and component sector. The Finish company traditionally makes the lion’s share of profits in the second six months of the year, because of winter tyre sales, plus Nokian has announced a joint venture in Russia and its RoadSnoop tyre pressure monitoring system has great potential. Despite all this, analysts Morgan Stanley have downgraded the company from “Equalweight” to “Underweight”. The reasons for this caution are 1. A worry that the winter tyre market may not be as good as expected, due to large stocks. 2. The high level of investment needed and time scale of the Russian JV. 3. The high level of investment in retail expansion which has yet to show returns.

25th July 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Russian Joint Venture For Nokian And Amtel

Finnish company Nokian Tyres and Amtel Holding of Russia have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture company to manufacture and market premium branded tyres in Russia and CIS countries. The JV – owned 50/50 by the two companies – will produce Nokian and Nordman branded tyres. The first Nokian tyres will be manufactured at the JV’s plant at Voronezh in 2004 and the maximum capacity of three million tyres is planned to be achieved by 2007. Investment in new manufacturing facilities will total US$ 110 million, with a first year investment of 38 million.

9th July 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Improved Results For Nokian

Nokian Tyres have released first quarter results. Turnover was up 10.3 per cent at 84.5 million Euro (Q1 2001: 76.6 m). The operating result was -1.0 m Euro (-1.9 m) and the result before tax was -4.0 m (-5.0 m). The net result was -3.3 m (-3.7 m). Sales and profits of passenger car tyres rose, while sales of heavy tyres decreased, as did sales of retreading materials. Sales of the chain Vianor were up, but the loss was greater than Q1 2001. Nokian’s aim for 2002 is to achieve better turnover and profit than last year.

26th April 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Increased Share Capital For Nokian

At its AGM, Nokian Tyres decided to raise its share capital from 17,798,127.40 Euro to 21,164,572.00 Euro. The company’s Articles of Association were amended to allow for a share capital of between a minimum of 16 million Euro and a maximum of 64 million. No new shares will be issued; the 3,366,444.60 Euro will be raised by transferring this amount from the share premium account to the share capital.

5th April 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

A New Nokian Winter Tyre For Fast Driving

Nokian Tyres has launched its new WR high performance winter tyre. It has been developed with the particular needs of drivers in Central Europe and North America in mind and replaces the Nokian NRW winter tyre. One particular size in the comprehensive range, 235/50 R18W, is intended for top speed driving, up to 270 km/hour, and is – according to the Finish tyre manufacturer – the world’s fastest winter tyre. The products will be available worldwide for consumers in the Autumn of this year. This reflects the design expertise of the Nordic tyre factory, Nokian says.

8th February 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Lower Profits Warning From Nokian

Nokian Tyres has warned that its profits for its tyre chain in the fourth quarter, and for the year as a whole, will be lower than expected, although group sales and profits developed as expected during the autumn. The reason cited for lower sales was the mild winter so far in Nordic countries, which depressed sales of winter tyres.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Price Rise For Nokian Tyres in Germany

The German subsidiary of Finnish tyre manufacturer, Nokian Tyres, has announced a 3% price increase for passenger car and SUV-tyres, and an increase of 2% for commercial vehicle tyres, effective from 1st April.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Subsidiary Company To Develop Nokian Intelligent Tyre Technology

Nokian has established a subsidiary company for commercialising and internationalising its recently-created intelligent tyre technology (ITT). The company is called RoadSnoop Ltd. and it will be responsible for the product development, production and marketing of ITT. Called the RoadSnoop Safety System, it consists of lightweight sensors installed in the tyres which monitor tyre pressures and temperatures. Should the pressure drop, the system sends an alert to the driver’s mobile phone, in-car computer, or even to a separate display at a garage forecourt.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors