Tyres & Accessories July 2013
July's Tyres & Accessories is now available online. This issue includes features on Tyre Manufacturing, Batteries and Previews the forthcoming NTDA TAFF Awards. Subscribers can view this online by clicking more below.
Raw Materials
Posts
Deutsche Bank lifts Goodyear estimates after strong Q2
NewsAs mentioned on 30 July, Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s second quarter net earnings per share of US$0.67 were markedly above the average analyst estimate. Deutsche Bank Equity Research Automotive comments that Goodyear’s Q2 operating earnings per share of $0.76 were a full $0.32 cents per share above its own prediction.
‘In line’ results leave analysts expecting more from Hankook
Company News, International News, NewsHankook’s second quarter results show that the manufacturer is well-placed to take advantage of the anticipated gradual recovery of replacement markets in the next year and a half. Indeed, the 1.4 per cent increase in revenue growth indicates that the Korean manufacturer is already experiencing some upward momentum, this figure having declined in the previous two quarters. Deutsche Bank analyst Sanjeev Rana commented that the company’s ongoing product mix improvement and falling raw materials costs should combine with the American and European recovery to keep Hankook’s margins “resilient”, while the bank also expects its operating profit to “grow 18 per cent” year-on-year in in the second half of 2013.
Goodyear income 39% above consensus
Company News, NewsGoodyear Tire & Rubber has announced what it says are record second quarter earnings, and even its European business showed signs of improvement. Net income more than doubled year-on-year from $85 million in Q2 2012 to $181 million, or $0.67 per share. This exceeded the average analyst estimate by $0.19, and company chairman and CEO Richard J. Kramer said the result demonstrates “the disciplined execution of our strategies by Goodyear associates around the globe as our operations become more efficient, reliable and integrated.”
Michelin: H1 performance ‘in line with objectives’, net income down 45% yoy
NewsUpon announcing first half 2013 results, Michelin voiced its expectation that mature markets will continue their recovery from last year’s weakness in the remainder of the year, while expansion should be seen in emerging markets. Should this trend play out, the French manufacturer sees itself in good stead to achieve its projected full-year volumes. This is all well and good, however Michelin’s reportage of its latest results said little about the first-half bottom line, which is markedly down on the same time last year.
ETRMA: All segments except truck tyres down in 1H 2013
NewsIn June 2013 almost all tyre segments outperformed the same period last year, according to sales data released by European industry body ETRMA on 16 July. Winter tyres were said to be the exception to this rule, but no further details have yet been given. One perhaps surprising observation is that markets with weaker economies in Southern Europe are actually performing better than the more established DACH or Scandinavian regions “In southern Europe, the consumer cannot delay any longer change of tyres. We seem to have reached the bottom”, ETRMA secretary general, Fazilet Cinaralp commented. However as good as bottoming out may be for future prospects of an upturn, in the short term is said to be bad news for input suppliers.
Conti gives overview of green developments
NewsThe commercial availability of Sumitomo’s Enasave 97, albeit in small volumes, has demonstrated the feasibility of producing tyres containing very little in the way of fossil fuels. Introducing completely or nearly fossil fuel-free products in greater quantities is a goal held by all tyre majors, and Continental’s head of material and process engineering has shared some details about the German tyre maker’s progress in this direction.
Sumitomo to launch 'fossil fuel free' tyre in 2013
Product NewsTwo papers delivered at the end of the tyre-based segment of the International Rubber Research and Development Board's International Rubber Conference 2013 focused on rubber technologies helping to create the next wave of green tyres. Dr Stuart Cook, the director of research at TAARC, gave a brief history of the research centre’s development of Ekoprena, starting with Michelin’s identification of the first “green tyre” back in 1992, while Sumitomo's Kozaburo Nakaseko indicated the corporation's intention to launch a "fossil fuel free tyre" in the second half of 2013, mixing "epoxidised natural rubber" with a more highly refined rubber product.
‘Most modern’ butyl rubber plant opens
NewsAt an official ceremony on 4 June, attended by around 400 guests, German specialty chemicals firm Lanxess inaugurated its new butyl rubber plant on Singapore’s Jurong Island. Built at a cost of 400 million euros, the facility is the company’s largest ever single investment and is described as being the “most modern of its kind in Asia.” The 100,000 tonne per annum plant will produce premium halobutyl rubber and regular butyl rubber.
Conti's Commercial Speciality Tires ‘a clear statement to the market’ – MD
NewsContinental’s increased specialisation in the commercial tyre segment was discussed at the launch of its latest “third generation” coach and bus tyres, but this reorganisation, begun from 1 January, has wider implications for applications beyond TBR products. The managing director of Continental Commercial Specialty Tires (CST), Dr Michael Maertens explained that the manufacturer’s new business strategy, indicated by the restructuring of this business unit, contains initiatives for future growth with particular focus on industrial and off the road material handling, underground mining and tyres for a specialised application you may not have expected to have swift growth potential.
Grant, MoU to further guayule development
NewsEver since agricultural-based biomaterials company Yulex Corporation was established, it has been supported by the University of Arizona; indeed, Yulex’s first experimental crops were planted on campus grounds and the university substantially contributed to Yulex's agronomic development successes. Yulex Corporation has now announced it will provide the University of Arizona a US$3 million, five-year grant. This grant focuses on the breeding and agronomic development of Guayule with the aim of producing biorubber for medical, consumer, and industrial applications.
Weak tyre, automotive demand weighs on Lanxess in Q1
NewsThe earnings posted by chemical company Lanxess in the first quarter of 2013 were lower than the company expected, and it says the weak market environment in the tyre and automotive industries is particularly responsible for this.
Indian launch for Apollo’s ‘4G’ range
NewsApollo Tyres unveiled the first of its fourth generation, or 4G tyres at the Geneva motor show in March 2012, and since the release of the Aspire 4G it has introduced further products into this latest generation line-up in Europe. Now the Indian tyre maker is releasing three 4G ranges in its domestic market, and it intends to use these to increase its share of India’s replacement passenger car tyre market.
Bridgestone donates to China earthquake relief
NewsThe Bridgestone Group has expressed its “deepest condolences to the victims and those who lost loved ones as a result of the April 20 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China” and announced it will donate 15 million yen (approximately £100,000) to support relief efforts through the Japanese Red Cross Society. In addition, Bridgestone (China) Investment Co., Ltd., the company's subsidiary in China, will donate RMB 300,000 (£31,500) to support relief efforts through the Red Cross Society of China.
Michelin Q1 sales down 8.1%
NewsSumming up its first quarter 2013 experience in a single sentence, Michelin states that in the three months to 31 March the “market environment was weak in Europe in passenger car and light truck tyres, disappointing in North America and expanding in the new markets.”
