Goodyear Flight radial aircraft tyres beat a Michelin radial tyre by 56 per cent in a head-to-head test on the landing gear of a US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon. The test examined tyre life cycle costs and in the past, the USAF has used test results as a basis for its annual procurement awards. The USAF has more than 2,000 F-16s in service.
The Pirelli Group has announced preliminary results for 2003 showing group revenues at 6,679 million Euro, down 0.6 per cent on the previous year’s 6,718 million Euro revenue. However, this still represented a growth of 7.2 per cent given comparable conditions. The operating income (EBIT) more than doubled to 266 million Euro and the Net debt was reduced to 1,755 million Euro, down by 300 million from the previous year. Overall the industrial operations staff numbers were reduced from 35,247 to 33,401 in 2003. Tyre sector sales accounted for 2,965 million Euro, an increase of 11.4 per cent; 7 per cent due to increased volume, the balance on prices and mix. Operating income from the tyre operation was 220 million Euro, an improvement of 15 per cent on the 2002 figure.
Bridgestone Corp. has declared its 2003 full-year profit rose 95.5 per cent but forecast a decline in 2004 as the strong yen, higher rubber costs and a fire-induced output cut threaten its bottom line. Group net profit for the year ended December 31 was 88.72 billion yen (829.1 million US dollars), compared with 45.38 billion yen the year before. Recurring profit increased 13.1 percent to 167.30 billion yen. The results were better than Bridgestone’s forecasts, which were revised down in September to account for the fallout from the fire at one of its major domestic plants. For this year, Bridgestone has forecast a recurring profit of 130 billion yen and net profit of 75 billion yen.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has declared from test results tyres are better at resisting wear than they were in 2000. But tyre ratings for traction performance and heat resistance have seen little change. Six per cent of tyres rated between a 500 and a 600 on resisting wear this year, meaning they can last four to six times longer than a basic tyre, and at least 25 tyres had a rating of 700 or higher. In 2000, there were hardly any meeting 600 and none at 700. The NHTSA website has ratings for more than 2,200 tyres, including some that have been discontinued but may still be on store shelves.
TBC Corporation, one of the USA’s leading marketers of automotive replacement tyres, has reported record sales and earnings for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2003.
For the full year 2003, Bandag reported consolidated net income of $60.2 million, or $3.11 per diluted share, compared to 2002 net income of $2.8 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, which included the write-off of goodwill, primarily of TDS (Tire Distribution Systems, Inc), of $47.3 million net of income tax. Consolidated net sales for 2003 decreased nine percent to $816.4 million from $900.5 million in 2002.
Amcast Industrial Corporation has reported financial results for its fiscal 2004 first quarter ended November 30, 2003. First quarter sales of 112.9 million US dollars compared with 112.2 million US dollars in the prior year. Net income for the quarter was 1.0 million US dollars, versus a prior-year quarterly net loss from continuing operations of 1.8 million US dollars. Amcast’s first quarter profit was due to continued strong performance by wheel plants and by the Wapakoneta, Ohio aluminium components plant.
SmarTire Systems has announced results for the first fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2003. Gross revenue for the first quarter totalled 427,526 US dollars, an increase of 29,937 US dollars over the same quarter in fiscal 2003. SmarTire recorded a quarterly net
loss of 3.26 million US dollars compared to a net loss of 2.07 million US dollars. “Our first quarter results were affected by an inventory shortage caused in part to transitioning the manufacturing of our products to Hyundai Autonet (HACO),” says Robert Rudman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SmarTire Systems. “HACO is quickly finalizing its production line and is preparing a build of SmarTire TPMS products to fill the backlog of orders booked but not shipped in Q1.”
Standard & Poor’s has said it may cut its rating on Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. deeper into junk territory, following the company’s announcement on Wednesday of possible accounting problems in Europe. “The announcement raises potential accounting concerns in a Goodyear operation that has been seen as solidly profitable,” S&P credit analyst Martin King said in a release. “Ratings could be lowered if the investigation results in material accounting adjustments, leading to substantial financial reporting delays, or has a negative impact on the company’s prospective liquidity and access to capital,” he said. S&P said it may cut Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear’s corporate credit rating of “BB-minus”, its third-highest junk rating.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced its consolidated results for the first half of fiscal 2004. The high value of the yen and sluggishness in the market for replacement tyres in Japan led to an overall decline in Yokohama’s tyre sales, but sales of hydraulic hoses and golf products increased. Sales of the tyre group amounted to 960.3 million Euro, a 0.8 per cent slide, and operating income decreased 27.5 per cent, to 15.1 million Euro. Demand in the Japanese market fell considerably, as both unit- and value-based sales of replacement tyres contracted. Sales of tyres on an original equipment basis were basically unchanged. Reflecting the current operating environment and these results, in fiscal 2004 Yokohama forecasts consolidated net sales of 3.02 billion Euro, a 0.1 per cent decrease, and net income of 75.6 million Euro, a 1.4 per cent decrease.
Hayes Lemmerz has reported financial results for the three months ended October 31, 2003. The Company said that earnings from operations totalled 13.9 million US dollars for the quarter, with gross profits remaining consistent, as compared to the same period in 2002. This is despite the increased depreciation expenses and lower OEM production requirements. Net sales for the three month period totalled 530.9 million US dollars, compared to 535.4 million US dollars for the comparable period in 2002. The Company reported a net loss of 10.0 million US dollars, compared to net income of 3.7 million US dollars for the comparable three months in 2002.
With the forecast of a turnover of 190 million Euro in 2003, wheel producer BBS (Germany) will significantly improve on its 2002 results (175 m). For the first nine months of this business year the company has announced an increase in turnover of 9.1 per cent and so was better than the industry average. The gain comes from OE business with an increase of 14 per cent, whereas aftermarket and income from motorsports and licensing was below the 2002 figure. The share of foreign business has fallen to 49.2 per cent. BBS expects to make a small profit in 2003.
Yesterday Goodyear communicated to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that they had not yet completed the restatement of the previously announced results for 1998 through to the second quarter of 2003 and, therefore, would not be in a position to submit the figures for the third quarter of 2003. Goodyear shares fell by 9 cents to 6.64 US dollars.
The deadline for Goodyear to release its financial results for the third quarter has been extended from last Friday to this Wednesday, after the tyre maker asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for more time to finalise the figures. Goodyear also asked for more time to complete the restatement of its accounts for the past five years. The company has indicated that its third quarter loss will be in the order of $106 million, or 60 cents per share, which is higher than some analysts forecast. The loss will be Goodyear’s eighth quarterly loss in the past 12 quarters and the company says that its loss for the first nine months of this year will be between $310 million-$335 million. A Goodyear spokesman would not comment on whether the 3Q figures would include any special charges covering factory closures or other restructuring costs.
Hankook Tire has announced its third quarter results, which prove its strong earnings growth stories. Its net profit was improved by 91.6 per cent YTD. A slight slowdown of its 3Q numbers came mainly from fewer working days. Hankook exhibited another good profitability growth again. Despite its YTD sales growth being at only 9.1 per cent, its operating profit was enhanced by 108.2 per cent YTD and its net profit improved by 91.6 per cent. Meanwhile, there was a slight slowdown of numbers on a QoQ basis, down 7.3 per cent in sales growth and down 0.7 per cent in operating profit. Such a decline was partially due to no sales contribution from apartment sales. But the bigger reason comes from fewer working days in 3Q03 (minus 10 days in YoY). As the company has three-shift production and its fixed cost burden amounts to 55 per cent (largely from depreciation, salaries and others), the fewer number of working days enlarged fixed cost burden and its operating profit was slightly decreased by 0.7 per cent QoQ.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
