It appears to be a case of once bitten, twice shy for Apollo Tyres. Following its experience with Cooper Tire & Rubber, and particularly its joint venture subsidiary Cooper Chengshan, the Indian tyre maker seems ready to give China a wide berth for the time being.
Following a Europe-wide tender process, Continental has been awarded a contract to deliver Deutsche Bahn some 17,000 bus tyres in several countries. Upon announcing the tyre supply deal for Deutsche Bahn’s DB Region and DB Arriva subsidiaries, the railway operator said Continental won the contract as its overall economic and service-oriented package created a favourable impression.
Cooper Tire has shared details of the sales office it has set up in Moscow. Alex Kolkov heads the office as sales manager; he joined Cooper Tire after serving in leadership positions at multinational companies with sales and production facilities in Russia, including Paulig Rus LLC and Sappi.
At present, Cooper Tire & Rubber operates eight plants in the Americas, Asia and Europe, and production from all three regions is sold on the European market. However the company believes its value proposition can be strengthened by increasing the proportion of European-made tyres sold here.
Serbia’s Ministry of Finance and Economy has published its list of the country’s leading exporters in the first quarter of 2013, and the automotive sector was amongst the major contributors in this area. Third on the top exporter list, behind Fiat Automobili Srbija and the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), was Tigar Tyres.
It appears Apollo Tyres is not planning to shift any Cooper Tire production to its factories in India. The Times of India reported on 22 June that the existence of Cooper production sites in low production cost countries makes such a move unnecessary. On the other hand, the Indian tyre maker makes no secret that it will use the acquisition deal to bring its Apollo brand into new markets. And the possibility of Apollo production in Cooper factories also remains.
Local officials are promoting Michelin's plans to build a second tyre production plant in Pirot, Serbia, according to two local news sources. Michelin already owns Tigar, a tyre factory in Pirot. The reports suggest the news factory would employ about 700 workers and cite local mayor Vladan Vasic as saying this is the greatest investment in the history of the city of Pirot.
Although year-on-year sales were down 12.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, Cooper Tire & Rubber nevertheless managed to more than double operating profit and net income during the January to March period. Net sales amounted to US$862 million, a decrease of $123 million compared with the same period a year ago. Operating profit was a first quarter record of $97 million, up 103 per cent from the first quarter of 2012 and 11.2 per cent of net sales. The company reported net income attributable to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company of $0.87 per share, or $56 million, in the first quarter. This is 160 per cent higher than the $22 million, or $0.34 per share, for the same period last year.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has reported its fourth quarter and full year 2012 results, including record net sales of US$1.1 billion in the final quarter, and increase of two per cent on the same period a year earlier. Operating profit also reached record levels in the fourth quarter, amounting to $124 million – $65 million higher than fourth quarter 2011 and 11.7 per cent of net sales. The company reported net income attributable to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company of $1.15 per share, or $73 million in the fourth quarter.
Upon reporting increased sales and profit in 2012, Finland’s Nokian Tyres shared its projection for replacement market growth this year in its main markets. Nokian anticipates demand for replacement passenger car tyres will grow one to two per cent in Europe, two per cent in Nordic countries and two to five per cent in Russia. Admittedly, the tyre maker concedes the pricing environment for all tyre categories will be “challenging” this year, although margins will be supported by a ten per cent year-on-year easing in raw material costs in the first quarter of 2013 and a four per cent easing over the entire year. Although Nokian expects to see growth in net sales and operating profit in 2013, it believes that first quarter performance will be “clearly weaker” than in 2012.
From 1 January 2013 Jeff Schumaker will take over as managing director of Cooper Tire Europe prior to Julian Baldwin’s retirement on 31 January. Baldwin’s retirement follows six years of leading Cooper Tire Europe and almost 20 years with the company.
“Jeff’s demonstrated leadership skills and broad range of competencies gained throughout his long and diverse career at Cooper Tire position him well to succeed Julian, who has accomplished a great deal in his years at the helm of Cooper Tire Europe,” said Hal Miller, president, International Tire Division. “Under Julian’s leadership, a high quality, cost-effective European manufacturing footprint was established and expanded with the recent opening of our new operation in Serbia. We thank Julian for his immense contributions and look forward to the strong leadership Jeff will bring to maximizing our opportunities throughout Europe and Russia.”
All eight of Cooper Tire & Rubber’s global manufacturing facilities are producing to ISO 9001:2008 standard following the certification of the company’s subsidiary in Kruševac, Serbia. Certification of the former Trayal plant, which officially came into Cooper hands on 17 January, was described by Kruševac plant manager Peter Salmon as marking “another step in making Serbia a globally competitive manufacturing facility.”
Slovenian tyre maker Sava has reported a 19 per cent growth in local net sales for 2011. The Goodyear subsidiary earned 132 million euros in local markets last year; in total, the company achieved net sales of 264.7 million euros and made a 6.83 million euro net profit.
Despite higher manufacturing costs in the first quarter of 2012, including costs related to the lockout at its Findlay plant, Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced improved results. The company reports net sales of US$984 million in the first three months of the year, an increase of $82 million, or nine per cent, compared with the first quarter of 2011. Operating profit was $48 million for the quarter, an increase of $16 million from the prior year same quarter. Net income attributable to Cooper Tire & Rubber for the quarter ended 31 March 2012 was $22 million, or $0.34 per share on a diluted basis, compared with $16 million, or 25 cents, for the first quarter of 2011.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd has appointed Peter McNally as general manager of its European Technical Centre at the company’s European headquarters in Melksham, UK. The appointment follows the move of former ETC head Gavin Edwards to Cooper’s Asia Technical Center. McNally takes up his new role with immediate effect.
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