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Tiger Automotive Offer Supported by 64.5% of Shareholders

According to media in South Africa, Tiger Automotive has declared that 64.5 per cent of shareholders had given a firm undertaking to vote in favour of the R1.05 billion (£76 million) offer made by Ethos Private Equity on December 12. To go ahead the transaction needs to approved by at least 75 per cent of shareholders and by antitrust authorities.

“TiAuto shareholders representing approximately 64.8 per cent of the shares eligible to vote at the scheme meeting have furnished irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the scheme,” Tiger Automotive said in a statement. The company added that it would not actively seek any rival offer while the Ethos offer remained on the table.

13th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo to Increase PCR Tyre Capacity by 50%

On December 13 Apollo Tyres stated it would invest more than one billion rupees to increase its PCR tyre capacity from 300,000 to 450,000 units per year. According to company COO and joint managing director Neeraj Kanwar, this expansion programme would be centred on Apollo’s Limda factory in the state of Gujarat, with some further small capacity increases also carried out in its other facilities in India and South Africa.

“We have earmarked Rs 108-crore (£13.4 million) investment for the next fiscal to increase our production capacity to 4.5 lakh (450,000) tyres per annum. This will suffice the expansion plan given that this will be an expansion of existing capacity as opposed to creating greenfield site,” Kanwar was quoted by India’s Sify news as saying. “We will embark on capacity expansion in the next fiscal and it will be completed by the end of the fiscal.” Kanwar added that the company would use internal accruals to fund the proposed expansion.

13th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kanwar Reiterates Apollo Plans

Comments made by Apollo Tyres joint managing director and COO during his attendance at the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit on December 3 reiterate the tyremaker’s goals for the coming years. “As stated, we are looking to touch the two billion dollar sales by 2010 and we are looking to enter strategic markets in Asia Pacific and Europe in the passengers tyre segment,” commented Kanwar to media covering the New Delhi summit. When asked whether the company, who in 2006 paid £35.4 million in cash for South Africa’s Dunlop International, intended to support its expansion through further acquisitions, Kanwar replied that “both organic and inorganic growth will play important part as we aim to achieve our 2010 target.”

5th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Announces Management Changes

Bridgestone Corporation announced on November 28 that its Board of Directors has approved the following proposals of the changes in Member of the Board and in Corporate Officers. The following board member will undergo changes in position and responsibilities, effective January 1, 2008.

– Toru TSUDA

New position and responsibilities: Vice president and senior officer responsible for products development, tyre products development, tyre research and material development.

Current position and responsibilities: Vice president and senior officer responsible for products development, tyre products development.

30th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Planning European Factory & Distribution Chain

Apollo Tyres’ plans to double its turnover to US$2 billion by 2010 involve expansion in Europe, and Neeraj Kanwar, the company’s joint managing director and COO, has revealed further details of Apollo’s intentions to this end. Comments made by the senior Apollo executive have been printed in the Indian business newspaper, Mint.

The tyremaker is aware of Europe’s value as a market, and is planning its entry into the market carefully. Neeraj Kanwar said that Apollo views Europe “eventually as a domestic market.” Therefore, the company’s involvement in the region is “taking time because we want to get the service infrastructure and the back-end (operations) ready.” A previous attempt at European distribution, in cooperation with Netherlands based wholesaler Euro-Tyre BV, saw only a limited quantity of Apollo Tyres products sold in Europe, and this working relationship has now ended.

21st November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Potential Tiger Auto Buyer Appears

South Africa’s Tiger Automotive has confirmed it received a written expression of interest in purchasing the company from prominent South African private equity manager Ethos Private Equity. The company has offered to pay R 1.05 billion (£76.2 million) for Tiger Automotive. However, Tiger Automotive added that this document is in no way a binding offer, nor is it a notice of firm intention to make an offer on the tyre and wheel distributor.

15th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Appointments at Goodyear SA

South Africa’s tyre industry has recently completed a short round of musical chairs, with a couple of senior executives switching companies. Former Continental Tyre SA senior manager Dustine Gascoyne has joined Goodyear South Africa as marketing director. “The Port Elizabeth-born marketing executive has gained solid experience in the tyre industry after spending the past 14 years at Continental,” said Goodyear in its announcement. Gascoyne added: “I am delighted to be on board at Goodyear. The company feels open and team-oriented.”

Goodyear recently split the sales and marketing directorship portfolios into two separate roles, and former Hi-Q managing director Andrew Bowren has taken up the position of sales director at Goodyear South Africa.

14th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Mining Director Predicts OTR Tyre Shortage Over in 2008

According to global diamond mining giant De Beers, the shortage of large OTR tyres that has plagued mining operators in recent years will be over by the end of 2008. The South African publication Mining Weekly has reported De Beers director Debbie Farnaby as saying the success of Chinese manufacturers in the area of radial OTR tyre production will end the shortage sooner than previously anticipated.

China’s traditional output of cross-ply tyres was deemed unsuitable by many mine operators, and numerous estimates of the tyre shortage’s duration were based upon the assumption that this type of OTR tyre would be the mainstay of Chinese production for some time. “But they’re making radials as well, and we’re testing some at Venetia (De Beers’ largest diamond mine in South Africa) at the moment,” Farnaby said.

2nd November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Results Show Growing Profits & EU Presence

The board of directors at Apollo Tyres made public details of the company’s unaudited second quarter and half-year results on October 26, figures that indicate strong profits. Combined India and South Africa net sales for the quarter between 1 July and 30 September were recorded as Rs 10,848.97 million (£134 million), slightly lower than the same period a year earlier (Rs 10,903.43 million). However, profits trebled: The Rs 182.18 million (£2.25 million) profit gained in second quarter 2006 swelled to Rs 576.09 million (£7.11 million) this year. Half year profits for the six months ended September 30 showed a similar trend, growing from Rs 298.69 million (£3.69 million) to Rs 1,122.5 million (£13.86 million).

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Turnover to Double in 3 Years – Kanwar

India’s tyre industry will most likely grow by 8 to 10 per cent over the next five years, claims Apollo Tyres’ chairman Onkar S Kanwar. He added that in the coming three years the tyremaker’s turnover will double to US$2 billion. “We are looking at inorganic growth and have acquired a facility in South Africa and are also in the process of starting a facility in Europe”, said Onkar. Specific details of Apollo’s current activities in Europe, however, were not provided.

12th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Starts Run-Flat Mass Production in South Africa

Bridgestone Corporation has announced that Bridgestone South Africa (Pty) Ltd., has started the mass production and shipping of run-flat from its Brits, factory. Bridgestone South Africa Holdings (Pty) Ltd. is a holding company which is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation for South Africa. The factory will produce 205/55R16 Turanza ER300 tyres for use on new BMW 3 Series automobiles produced in South Africa.

The Brits Plant started operation in 1971 with the production of radial tyres for passenger cars, light trucks, and trucks and buses, predominantly supplying the South African market. With the start of run-flat production and shipping at the Brits Plant, Bridgestone Group now boasts a “quadripartite production system” of run-flat tyres spanning Japan, the United States, Poland and South Africa. A special ceremony was held at the Brits Plant on September 13 to celebrate the start of mass production and BMW approval.

8th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tiger Auto Mauls a 19 Per Cent Headline Earnings Increase

Tiger Automotive has thrived since its unbundling from Tiger wheels last December, and the company’s latest financial bear testimony to the wheel and tyre distributor’s good health. Tiger Automotive reports that in its first full year as a company listed with South Africa’s JSE stock exchange in its own right, it has achieved a 19 per cent increase in headline earnings, to Rs 1.242 (£0.085) a share. Revenue has risen 17.3 per cent to Rs 1.1 billion (£75.3 million). The company reports that these results counter the typical pattern of lower earnings in the second half. At the half-year stage, headline earnings were 15.2 per cent up at Rs 0.61 (£0.042), and the forecast was for a slight increase in full-year earnings.

“This pleasing rise in earnings was achieved because we were able to rectify – although not completely – problems that impacted on the first half,” said group managing director Keith Rivers.

Pre-tax profit (for the year to 30 June) increased 15.5 per cent to Rs 101.3-million (£6.9 million), while attributable profit was up by almost Rs 10 million to Rs 73.7 million (£5.04 million). In lieu of an annual dividend, the company is making a capital distribution of Rs 0.49 (£0.03) a share.

7th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Several Companies Show Interest in Ailing ATS Plant

A number of companies have cast a hungry eye upon the factory owned by ATS Light Alloy Wheels South Africa a month after the company was placed in provisional liquidation. One of the joint liquidators, Alan Pellow, said that about six companies had already inspected the plant and “some people in the US want to have a look.”

The liquidators say they are striving to find a buyer who we take on the factory as a going concern, however this happy outcome is by no means certain. “We are waiting for the final valuations for the plant and will then probably send out an information pack worldwide and see what we can bring in,” Pellow added.

ATS Light Alloy Wheels South Africa is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tiger Wheels’ 74 per cent owned German unit ATS Beteiligungs. In addition to the South African facility, ATS also operates alloy wheel manufacturing plants in Germany, Poland and the US. Directors and senior management at the South African plant applied for liquidation of the company due to ongoing cash flow problems, and the decision as to if or when liquidation is finalised is dependent on a high court decision.

28th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Laugfs to Begin Industrial Tyre Production

Laugfs Holdings, the Sri Lanka based LPG company that has diversified into many areas of business, ranging from rubber products to restaurants, bottled water and apartments, is planning to invest Rs 350 million (£1.58 million) during the next three months at their tyre manufacturing facility in Millewa, in the country’s Western Province.

“We will start making solid tyres used for forklifts and other heavy machinery,” said Laugfs managing director Thilak de Silva. He added that the products are primarily destined for export to Australia and South Africa. “We have got orders from these countries, from companies which engage in mining.”

Prior to this latest investment Laugfs’ tyre manufacturing focused upon pneumatic tyres for three-wheeled vehicles and tyres for wheelbarrows. The company reports it is also in the process of developing a range for motorcycles and passenger cars under its ‘Palomino’ and ‘Stallion’ brand names.

20th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyremakers Back to Work in South Africa

A decision that resounded as music to the ears of South Africa’s tyre industry was announced on August 17 – the month long strike that brought production at factories belonging several tyre majors to a halt has been resolved. Following a breakthrough in negotiations workers at Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Firestone and Goodyear agreed to return to work on August 21.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) urged all its members to meet at their workplace on August 20 for a report about the wage talks. “Numsa is of the view that it has made progress. It will discuss with its constituencies on Monday whether the current offer on the table does constitute a settlement,” said Numsa regional secretary Irvin Jim. The offer includes an eight per cent across-the-board increase, 8.5 per cent for minimum salary employees, and 7.5 per cent for next year and the year after.

20th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors