Kumho Tire made its official debut on both the South Korean and London stock exchanges on Wednesday. The South Korean tyre maker launched simultaneous initial public offerings of its stock earlier this month, and began active trading yesterday.
On its first trading day on the London exchange, Kumho’s share price closed at £7.92, up six per cent from its IPO pricing.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has reported a 5 per cent year-over-year increase in net sales, a fourth quarter record for the company’s tyre operations. At the same time the board of directors authorised the repurchase of up to $200 million of the company’s publicly traded notes. This will be done through open market transactions, a tender offer or a combination of the two. Total net sales for the company’s continuing operations increased to $541 million in the quarter ended 31 December 2004, compared to $515 million in the same period of 2003. Income from continuing operations dipped significantly in the quarter to $3 million (4 cents per share) from $8 million (10 cents per share) in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Bridgestone Australia is predicting that its 2005 results will suffer “significantly” because of a rise in raw material prices, reports Fairfax news site.
The manufacturer recorded a $10.86 million (£4 million) net profit in 2004, which was up 1.9 per cent on the previous year.
“As predicted in our October and December 2004 stock exchange releases, raw material prices increased significantly in the last quarter of 2004,” Bridgestone said.
According to Deutsche Bank, Cooper Tire’s (CTB) management “sounded pretty optimistic on CTB’s growth prospects for 2005,” at a recent analyst conference.
Company representatives remain positive about industry pricing, reports the German news source, with Cooper rolling out new price increases of up to four per cent in March. New contracts that have recently been secured should also encourage 2.5 per cent growth, say analysts.
Titan International has announced that its Titan Wheel Corporation subsidiary has signed a supply agreement with Deere & Company. According to the company, the agreement secures wheel pricing with Deere for three years. The agreement excludes raw material price increases or decreases, these will be passed on to the customer.
”This is a very beneficial contract for both companies. Deere is ensured uninterrupted wheel supply and agreed upon pricing. In exchange, Titan will receive minimum order quantities and more accurate forecasting from Deere to increase productivity,” stated Maurice Taylor Jr., Titan president and CEO. “We congratulate the Deere team led by chairman and CEO Robert Lane on their record year, and the outlook for 2005 remains positive. Titan looks forward to growing with Deere and the rest of the agricultural and construction markets.”
Analysts have suggested Superior is taking a “last man standing approach” while the company reports relatively weak third quarter results.
STS Tyres & Exhausts has appointed a completely new management team at its Aylesbury branch. Francis Johnson and Paul Piggott, who have worked together in the sector for 12 years have joined the centre as manager and deputy manager respectively.
Deldo Autobanden has announced record sales figures. In September sales increased by more than 30 per cent compared with the same time in 2003, the company says. The new record now stands at more than 500,000 units.
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc’s second quarter results show that the company has felt the consequences of increased steel and iron prices and lowered OEM production requirements in North America.
In the second quarter of 2004 Goodyear achieved a record levels of sales, the company has reported. With all seven of its businesses profitable, the company also reported net income of $25.1 million (£16.5 million) for the second quarter of 2004, a record figure.
Goodyear may have been in profit for the second quarter and may have posted record sales but not everyone is impressed. Deutsche Bank analysts have pointed out a number of flaws in the company’s optimism.
DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes unit has concluded negotiations with unions. The agreement between the two sides allows Mercedes to realise cost savings of 500 million euros that will take effect in 2006 and 2007, the company says.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced that it expects to report second quarter sales of around $4.5 billion. The figure represents a $0.7 million dollar improvement on the previous year, which the company believes is the result of higher volume output, improved pricing and better product mix.
The development of a free trade area by the EAC and the introduction of zero-rate tax on tractor tyres could eat into Firestone East Africa’s local market share according to local commentators. Further, a decision by the company to develop an equity retail chain is being met with resistance by the tyre trade. It is claimed that outgoing managing director Hiroshi Yamazaki had already expressed concerns that the new tariff decision by the government would severely affect the firm’s tractor tyre product line, which employs about 150 people. Sources said unless the firm improves its level of efficiency, monthly production capacities of 900 for tractor tyres and 2,500 for truck and bus tyres would fall. Even in Africa the market for light trucks and passenger vehicles has been facing heavy pricing pressures as a result of both the flooding of the local market by cheap imports and counterfeits.
Bridgestone Firestone Maxiprest reports headline earnings per share of 1.4 cents for the year ended December – a sharp decline from earnings of 23.2 cents reported the previous year. The group reported a headline loss of 1.759 million Rand after a 21 million Rand profit the year before. At trading level, margins were maintained at 26 per cent, which was more than satisfactory given the pressure on pricing in the second half of the year end trading results from the African operations. The group said the results were impacted by charges approximating 24.6 million Rand relating to the strengthening on the Rand, the write-down of investments in African operations of 1.8 Rand and the provision for increased bad debt to 11.2 million Rand.
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