Jiangsu General Technology establishes US tyremaking subsidiary
Jiangsu General Technology Co., Ltd. is establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Georgia, US, which is likely to be called General Rubber (North America) Limited.
According to Trelleborg, its Mitas business is now making “concentrated preparations” towards penetrating the radial sport touring tyre segment with a “new concept in radial tyres.” It hasn’t revealed the name of the tyre developed by the Mitas/Trelleborg facility in Kranj, Slovenia, however it says the tyre is intended for use on heavier sport motorcycles that can carry two people and luggage over longer distances.
Superior Industries publishes Q2 2017 results, updates outlook
Second quarter results for aluminium wheel manufacturer Superior Industries International, Inc. show both record unit shipments and a net loss. These results for the quarter to 25 June 2017 also include one month of results from Uniwheels AG, in which Superior acquired a major shareholding on 30 May 2017. Upon tomorrow’s settlement of the delisting tender offer, Superior will own approximately 93.2 per cent of Uniwheels’ common stock shares.
Apollo Tyres: Raw material prices drags profit down 72%
High raw material prices strongly influenced the bottom line at Apollo Tyres Ltd in the three months to 30 June 2017. Although net sales, at Rs 32.58 billion (£391.0 million), were in line with those achieved in the corresponding quarter a year earlier, operating profit declined 50.3 per cent to Rs 2.82 billion (£33.8 million) and net profit was down 72.0 per cent to Rs 880.3 million (£10.6 million).
Despite revenues remaining relatively stable, Ceat Limited endured a massive drop in net profit in the first quarter of its financial year. Consolidated net revenues declined 0.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 14.6 billion (£175.2 million), while the Indian tyre maker reported a 70.4 per cent per cent decline in EBITA to Rs 580 million (£7.0 million) and shrinkage of the margin from 13.3 per cent to 4.0 per cent. Profit after tax plummeted 99.0 per cent from Rs 1.03 billion (£1.2 million) to Rs 10 million (£120,000).
Although its total income rose 2.7 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of the year, to Rs 40.1 billion (£480.8 million), MRF Limited reported a substantial drop in profit during the three months to 30 June 2017. The India tyre maker’s profit declined 77.9 per cent to Rs 1.1 billion (£12.7 million) due to a 21.0 per cent year-on-year rise in expenses, to Rs 39.2 billion.
Team ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport’s Lucas di Grassi is the new Formula E Champion after securing a comfortable points’ finish in the season finale at the Hydro-Quebec Montreal ePrix.
Trico Europe has appointed Hannah Martin as product and marketing co-ordinator to its Pontypool HQ. Hannah will be working alongside Trico’s senior marketing manager, brand & product, Sam Robinson, to develop and implement the marketing strategies for Trico and its customers, including exhibitions, PR and advertising campaigns.
Cenex announces trial of natural gas-fuelled lorries
Cenex – the UK’s first Centre of Excellence for low carbon technologies – has announced its involvement in the UK’s largest trial of biomethane-fuelled lorries. Led by Air Liquide – world leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and health – and funded in part by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles in partnership with Innovate UK via the recently launched Low Emission Freight and Logistics Project, the ‘Dedicated to Gas’ trial will see large fleet operators including Kuehne + Nagel, Wincanton, ASDA, Brit European, Howard Tenens and Great Bear, trial the effectiveness of 81 dedicated gas-powered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).
The DFL-Supercup, a football match held between the winners of the previous Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal, will be held tomorrow in the German city of Dortmund and see local team Borussia Dortmund take on Bayern Munich. Falken branding will be visible during the day’s proceedings thanks to Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ return as a DFL-Supercup sponsor for a second year.
Working through the downturn: Titan International increases net sales, reports $6.5 million loss
The year-on-year gain in net sales seen at Titan International in the opening quarter of this year has continued in the second. For the three months to 30 June 2017, the manufacturer of off-highway tyres, wheels, assemblies and undercarriage products reports net sales of US$364.4 million, an increase of 10.4 per cent on the second quarter of 2016. Net sales for the first half of the year amount to $721.9 million, up 10.7 per cent from a year earlier.
Dunlop slick convinces in Performance Bikes’ five-tyre test
In a comparative evaluation of five slick track tyres, Performance Bikes magazine (September 2017) has rated the latest Dunlop GP Racer D212 its top choice. John McAvoy and Chris Walker tested the Dunlop rubber together with the Continental Track Slick, Metzeler Racetec RR Slick, Michelin Power Slick Evo and Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slick, and while the GP Racer D212 didn’t deliver the fastest lap time, Walker and McAvoy both “raved about the front, and how fast it turned as well as how much feel it produced.”
According to several German media sources, the price of Continental tyres will increase in the second half of this year. Wolfgang Schäfer, chief financial officer at Continental, indicates that tyre prices will go up by between three and five per cent in order to compensate for higher natural rubber costs.
MRL Tyres Ltd. (India) has launched a new website at www.mrltires.com. The new site is designed to offer enriched content and give users a better browsing experience from their mobile devices. With this in mind, the layout of the site has been optimized for browsing from tablets and smartphones.
Continental net income down: Raw material costs deflate tyre-related earnings
Although sales rose, sharp increases in raw material costs held back earnings within Continental’s Tire and ContiTech divisions in the first half of 2017. Reporting the company’s first half and second quarter results, Executive Board chairman Dr Elmar Degenhart shared that despite a 9.4 per cent year-on-year increase in sales during the six months to 30 June, to 8.6 billion euros, these costs impacted the Continental Rubber Group’s earnings by some 300 million euros. Rubber Group EBIT dropped 11.2 per cent to 1.2 billion euros in the first half of the year and the margin contracted from 17.7 per cent to 14.4 per cent.
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