Following the withdrawal of its 2022 guidance on 28 February, Nokian Tyres has commented that it expects net sales and segments operating profit in 2022 to “decrease significantly compared to 2021.” The tyre manufacturer is the most acutely affected by the Ukraine-Russia war, as analysis previously published on Tyrepress shows.
The latest EU sanctions against Russia will seriously affect Nokian Tyres and its business in Europe. The tyre maker says the sanctions will have a “significant impact” on its ability to manufacture tyres in Russia, which will reduce its ability to sell tyres in the EU, and within Central Europe in particular.
The war in Ukraine has brought “high uncertainty” to Nokian Tyres’ operational environment and manufacturing capacity, and as a result it is accelerating plans to invest in new production capacity in Europe. To help fund this capacity, the Board of Directors at Nokian tyres has decided to decrease the dividend payable for the 2021 financial year.
Nokian Tyres has explained the decision to retain its manufacturing operation in Russia, a facility that reportedly produced 82 per cent of Nokian’s passenger and light commercial vehicle tyres last year. The Finnish tyre maker states that by continuing to operate the passenger car tyre factory in Vsevolozhsk, Russia it wants to “make sure that the factory is operated and controlled by Nokian Tyres also in the future.”
The crisis in Ukraine has impacted upon Nokian Tyres’ business in multiple ways, and the company has now activated contingency plans to “mitigate the financial and operational impacts” upon business. At the same time, it has donated 100,000 euros to UNICEF to help children in the war zone.
In light of the Russia-Ukraine war, Nokian has established a crisis management team to safeguard staff and production at its Vsevolozhsk, Saint Petersburg, Russia tyre factory and is relocating the production of certain tyre lines to Finland and the US. Nokian employs 1,600 people in Russia. Net sales in the company’s Russia & Asia business unit amounted to 336 million euros in 2021.
Nokian has dropped its 2022 financial guidance as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia where Nokian runs a tyre manufacturing plant in Vsevolozhsk, near Saint Petersburg.
Nokian Tyres posted all-time record sales in the past financial year. The Finnish manufacturer reports that its sales rose by 29.7 per cent (comparable currencies) to 1.71 billion euros. Operating profit also improved considerably, rising 123.5 per cent to 268.2 million euros. This resulted in an operating margin of 15.6 per cent, up 6.5 percentage points on the 2020 result. The tyre maker’s Board of Directors has proposed a dividend of 1.32 euros per share, to be paid in two instalments.
Nokian Tyres is launching an innovation challenge to change the future of driving. The “Fast Race, Big Change” challenge is an open competition inviting start-ups, businesses, students and academics to innovate for more sustainable tyres. The finalists will be offered the unique opportunity to pitch their idea at Nokian Tyres’ legendary – and rather dauntingly named – ‘White Hell’ tyre testing centre in Lapland, during one lap on a test track. The winner will have the chance to collaborate with the Nokian Tyres R&D experts to craft their idea into reality.
Nokian Tyres has developed a new line of winter van tyres for professionals and recreational drivers, with an additional studded option for Nordic conditions. The Hakkapeliitta CR4 and C4 studded tyres are designed to last longer and carry heavy loads in a balanced manner at higher speeds, the Finnish manufacturer says. Nokian has maximised the durability of the Hakkapeliitta C4 and CR4 via its impact, cut, and pothole resistant Aramid Sidewall technology. The new tyre line, designed for key markets in the Nordic countries and Russia, will be delivered to retailers by autumn, in time for the 2022/23 winter season.
The new Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta R5 for passenger cars and the Hakkapeliitta R5 SUV for sport utility vehicles and crossovers are made to deliver uncompromising safety and smart driving features for every day of winter. Offering the purest form of safety, the new Hakkapeliitta R5 product range is an innovative combination of winter grip, silence and driving comfort. A special addition to this product family is the Hakkapeliitta R5 EV, a dedicated version for electric vehicles and hybrids.
For decades, Nokian Tyres has been striving to make the world a safer and more environmentally-friendly place, and its latest innovation is described as its most sustainable tyre yet. The Nokian Tyres Green Step concept tyre incorporates an ambitious design consisting of 93 per cent of the materials either recycled or renewable. It moves the company even closer to its goal: by the year 2030, 50 per cent of all raw materials used in Nokian Tyres’ tyres will be recycled or renewable.
Nokian Tyres has introduced the first model in a family of tyres it says will “strongly support” the company’s growth targets in coming years. This is the Nokian Tyres Outpost AT, an all-season tyre for SUVs, crossovers and light trucks that “delivers safe, durable driving on any road – or off the road.” The Finnish manufacturer plans to sell this all-terrain product in markets all around the world.
The solar-powered Visitor Centre Building at Nokian Tyres’ Spain Test Centre has earned LEED v4 Platinum certification – the highest LEED certification level – for green building leadership. Nokian Tyres’ 300-hectare Test Centre is situated in Santa Cruz de la Zarza, a small town about one hour’s drive south of Madrid. The Test Centre includes 10 test tracks and the Visitor Centre. Inspectors highlighted the Visitor Centre’s innovation in design, energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality as key drivers of the high certification level.
In a teasing press release just before Christmas, Nokian Tyres revealed that the company is extending its Hakkapeliitta winter tyre range, with the addition of new flagship products; the Hakkapeliitta R5 Nordic non-studded winter tyres, designed for passenger cars and SUVs. The new tyre is, says Nokian’s head of product management Marko Saari, “a revolutionary new tyre that everyone will want to experience for themselves.”
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