Hankook Tire reports positive sales and operating income results for 2007. The tyremaker has recorded sales of 2.253 trillion won (£1.2 billion), an increase of 9.2 per cent on its 2006 results. Operating income jumped 57.4 per cent from 174.54 billion won (£94.5 million) in 2006 to 274.79 billion won (£148.7 million) last year.
On January 15 the Board of Directors of PTL Enterprises took on record the company’s unaudited results for third quarter of 2007-8 and gave approval for a Rs 400 million (£5.2 million) green field project in Kerala. For the third quarter of the year, PTL Enterprises recorded a total income of Rs 67.1 million (£871,800) from Rs 38 million (£493,700) in the same quarter last year; an increase of nearly 77 per cent. Company net profit went up by more than 1000 per cent to Rs 23.6 million (£306,600) this quarter from Rs 2 million (£26,000) in Q3 FY 2006-07.
The Board of Directors approved a Rs 400 million investment for a greenfield facility manufacturing specialty tyres for the Indian market. The manufacturing unit will be established on land recently acquired by the company in Ernakulam, district of Kerala. The PTL facility is currently leased to Apollo Tyres.
Lionax, the first Chinese company listed on the Euronext pan-European stock exchange, announced on January 7 that it has reached a ‘key milestone’ in its quest to develop the industry’s leading next generation Digital Pressure Sensor (DPS), a critical component in TPMS systems in terms of both function and cost.
Presently, comments Lionax, TPMS manufacturers purchase DPS units from third party suppliers such as Motorola, Siemens and GE, adding what the Chinese company calls a ‘significant cost’ to TPMS products. Leveraging on proprietary innovative “Ring Oscillation” technology, Lionax’s Silicon Valley office is working with scientists and researchers from Scotland’s SemeFab and Tsinghua University in China to jointly pursue a superior and more cost effective solution. Based on recently available preliminary results, Lionax claims it will have access to the next generation DPS technology at half to one-third of the current market price.
TyreSafe has marked the post New Year return to work, and the daily commute, by issuing another warning about the importance of regularly checking tyre pressure and tread depth. The organisation’s latest report quotes disturbing figures from surveys conducted by vehicle supermarket Motorpoint, which indicates more than 50 per cent of drivers fail to regularly check their tyre pressure before embarking on a journey, and by carmaker Kia, which found that one in three drivers failed to check their tread depth even monthly during the 2007 winter season.
In the US the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) has announced the results of a recent member survey showing that suppliers expect business to look a little less than rosy for the automotive aftermarket this year. The results were compiled from quarterly market segment surveys conducted by the three MEMA market segment groups – Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA) and Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA). These member-only industry surveys serve as barometers for the business outlook for the next 12 months.
One in ten people who drive for work have admitted falling asleep at the wheel in the past year, according to new research by road safety charity Brake and Green Flag. The shocking figure is more than twice as high as the number of drivers who don’t drive for work but who say they have fallen asleep in the past year, which is still an alarmingly high one in 25 drivers. Nodding off for just a second or two at the wheel can kill: travelling at 60mph on a motorway (one of the main types of road where fatigue commonly occurs), a driver covers 27 metres (88 feet) per second.
One of the main causes of nodding off at the wheel is insufficient sleep the night before. The research has found that people who drive for work are more likely to drive after insufficient sleep. Half of the people who drive for work who were surveyed say they sometimes drive after less than five hours’ sleep, compared to just over a third (35 per cent) of people who drive only outside work. Research shows that if you drive after less than five hours’ sleep, you have just a one in ten chance of staying fully awake on a lengthy journey.
Researchers led by Gary W. Krutz, director of Purdue’s Electrohydraulic Center and a professor of agricultural and biological engineering, has developed a tyre system that reportedly senses failures in real time. The concept behind the technology is that the entire tyre acts as a sensor that sends information to on-board computers. The patented technology is available through the Purdue Research Foundation’s Office of Technology Commercialization.
“I became interested in this after I had to replace all the tyres on my daughter’s and son-in-law’s car after just 10,000 miles and suspected problems after seeing dozens of truck retreads along interstates,” said Krutz, who earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. “This motivated me to do some research and find a way to improve tyre safety. Our prototypes were tested, and the results showed significant damage can be quickly detected.”
Recently released quarterly results for India’s Ceat Ltd show robust growth in the quarter to 30 September 2007. While net sales increased by a respectable but unremarkable 8.5 per cent over the same three months of 2006, to Rs5.83 billion (£72.65 million), operating profit more than doubled during the period. For the quarter to 20 September 2007 Ceat achieved an operating profit of Rs 622.9 million (£7.76 million), up from Rs 307,3 million (£3.82 million) a year earlier. Pre-tax profit showed an even more impressive increase, rising to Rs405.6 million (£5.1 million), a 470.5 per cent increase on the September 2006 figure of Rs71.1 million (£885,600).
Third quarter results for wheel manufacturer Hayes Lemmerz showed a 20 per cent increase in sales from the same period a year earlier. For the three months ending October 31, 2007 the company took in sales of US$554.9 million, up from $463.3 million in the third quarter of 2006. The company reports that this increase in sales resulted in strong international aluminium and steel wheel sales, material cost recovery and favourable foreign currency fluctuations.
For the third quarter, the Hayes Lemmerz reported adjusted EBITDA of $55.8 million, an improvement of $12.0 million or 27 per cent over the year earlier quarter, and earnings from operations before impairments of $22.2 million, an improvement of $11.3 million –more than double Q3 2006. Free cash flow for the third quarter, excluding the effects of the company’s accounts receivables securitisation program, was $26.5 million, an increase of $26.2 million over the year earlier quarter. Free cash flow for the first nine months of fiscal 2007 was $8.0 million, an increase of $14.2 million for the same period last year.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber announced on December 6 the results of a previously announced offer to exchange its outstanding four per cent Convertible Senior Notes due June 15, 2034 for a cash payment and shares of its common stock. Note holders tendered approximately US$346 million aggregate principal amount of convertible notes in exchange for approximately 28.7 million shares of common stock plus a total cash payment of approximately $23 million. Approximately 99 per cent of the principal amount of the outstanding convertible notes was tendered in the exchange offer. A total of approximately $4 million principal amount of convertible notes remains outstanding.
Thomson Financial has reported comments made by Michelin CFO Jean-Dominique Senard to the effect that the increased prices now being paid for the raw materials used in tyre production will “have an impact” on the group’s 2008 results, although he added that it is too early to indicate the extent of this impact.
“The recent movements that we have experienced are going to have an impact and the question is how much,” said Senard. A clearer picture of the effect raw material prices have had will most likely be provided early next year when Michelin’s 2007 full year results are made public, he added. For 2007 the impact of rising raw materials upon annual results should be, Senard reports, around 60 million euros, give or take a few million.
Canada based tyre pressure and temperature monitoring system producer SmarTire Systems has announced that the revenue for its fiscal year ending July 31, 2007 increased to $3,661,821 from $3,455,649 during fiscal 2006. However this rise in revenue was again accompanied by a net loss; $19.6 million or $0.07 per share, a reduced loss from fiscal year 2006, in which net figures were $28.8 million or ($0.10) per share in the red.
Cash used to fund operating and investing activities in fiscal 2007 decreased to $5.1 million from $8.1 million in fiscal 2006. The decrease in cash used was primarily due to the closure of the company’s UK office in late February, the reduction in the number of company employees by approximately 45 per cent and the issuance of shares to settle debt. Smartire state it anticipates that cash required for operating and investing activities in fiscal 2008 will decrease by another 50-60 per cent of the amount of the cash used to fund operating and investing activities in fiscal in fiscal 2007. The company’s operating expenses for the year increased to $7.7 million from $7.1 million in fiscal year 2006.
Toyo Tire & Rubber has announced its consolidated business results for the interim period of April 1, 2007 to September 30, 2007. Compared with the same period of the previous year, net sales increased by 24,017 million yen (£104.28 million) to 169,778 million yen (£737.11 million), an increase of 16.5 per cent. Operating income increased by 1,155 million yen (£5.01 million) to 7,086 million yen (£30.76 million, up 19.5 per cent, and ordinary income increased by 1,790 million yen (£7.77 million) to 6,194 million yen (£26.89 million, an increase of 40.6 per cent.
The company has also disclosed what it calls a “compliance reporting issue” discovered at its industrial products division involving urethane-based heat-resistant building construction materials, and initial estimates into the cost of replacing the subject materials stand at approximately 4,035 million yen (£17.52 million), therefore net income for the current interim period will decrease by 7,959 million yen (£34/56 million) to 637 million yen (£2.77 million), a sizeable 92.6 per cent drop.
Analysts expect the nine-month operating results released by Pirelli & C SpA to be flat or slightly lower due to the mixed performance of the company’s various divisions. Analysts have predicted a net profit of between 91 and 114 million euros compared with a loss of 1.411 billion euros in same period last year, an EBIT of 280 to 297 million, down from 300 million last year, an EBITDA of 441 to 462 million, against last year’s 462 million, and sales of 3.856 to 3.929 billion.
Pirelli Tyre is expected to benefit from volume increases in emerging economies, offsetting the impact of higher raw material prices. However, margins are expected to be particularly hard hit by higher raw material prices, one analyst commented. A second Milan based analyst noted that Pirelli has little exposure to the US market, and is thus in part insulated from the weaker dollar’s negative impact on sales. “The US represents 8 per cent of sales. They are more present in Latin America that is going very well,” he said.
Micheldever Group Ltd CEO, Paul Fox, was pipped to the post for the Institute of Director’s (IoD) Director of the Year Award in the £25 million+ turnover category. Jonathan Neame of Shepherd Neame brewery won the award, with Steve Barber of technology company Xyratex also nominated. The results were announced at a Dinner and Awards ceremony held on 8 November in the Nash Room of the Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London.
Paul Fox joined Micheldever in February 2006 (as result of the Graphite Capital-backed management buyout) along with finance director Richard Sawney. In December 2006 Graphite Capital backed the first acquisition by Micheldever Tyre Services since the company was bought in February 2006. In this move Micheldever acquired two large retail sites, Cambridge and Stortford Performance Tyres, from the Company’s private owners, who retired upon completion. According to an official statement, this purchase demonstrated Micheldever’s intention to pursue similar transactions in the future.
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