Not so long ago the word ‘inflation’ typically drew thoughts to tyre pressure, at least in our line of work. But the other inflation has made an unwelcome comeback and is eating away at our purchasing power. Over in Turkey, the rate of inflation hit 72% in 2022 and made its presence known in Brisa’s financial results for the year. But against this backdrop of growing Turkish Lira weakness, the tyre maker had a good year.
In spite of lower sales volumes, a combination of “firm pricing discipline” and “fast-growing non-tyre sales” helped Michelin increase its overall sales to €28.6 billion in 2022. The company achieved segment operating income of €3.4 billion, while net income reached €2.0 billion for the year, up 8.9 per cent on 2021.
Apollo Tyres Ltd. maintained its market share within Europe’s passenger car and light truck (PCLT) market in the three months to 31 December 2022 (Q3 FY2023) despite declining approximately 14 per cent year-on-year in this market. The tyre maker primarily attributes this negative growth to high channel inventory, a mild winter and the economic slowdown.
Announcing its 2022 financial results, Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) shares that its consolidated global sales reached an “all time high” last year. Sales increased 17.5% to KRW 8,394.2 billion (£5.6 billion, $6.9 billion). Operating profit rose 9.9% YoY, to KRW 705.7 billion (£468.2 million, $576.7 million).
Ceat Limited, an RPG Group company, reports consolidated revenue of Rs 27.27 billion (£269.9 million) for the three months to 31 December 2022, the third quarter of its financial year. This result represents a year-on-year increase of 13.0 per cent. EBITDA rose 61.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 23.14 billion (£229.0 million), with an EBITDA margin of 8.5 per cent, up 256 bps compared with the same period of last year. Net profit stood at Rs 348 million (£3.4 million).
Using “initial preliminary and unaudited figures” as a source, Continental Group has published its key financial figures for Q4 and fiscal 2022. These show adjusted free cash flow to be significantly below the target range. The tyre maker and automotive systems company is nevertheless confident of achieving its targeted consolidated sales and adjusted margin.
In the first half of 2022, Sailun Group’s operating income rose 21.28 per cent year-on-year to a record high of CNY 10.493 billion (£1.29 billion). Net profit attributable to the listed company’s shareholders rose 1.6 per cent year-on-year to CNY 715 million (£87.63 million), and net cash flow from operating activities amounted to CNY 457 million (£56.91 million), up 42.15 per cent year-on-year.
Prinx Chengshan Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries report selling 9.394 million tyres during the six months to 30 June 2022, a year-on-year increase of 3.3 per cent. From this total, 3.333 million were all-steel radial tyres and 5.919 million semi-steel radials. Cross-ply tyres accounted for some 142,000 pieces.
On 30 August, Triangle Tire published its 2022 semi-annual report, and this shows that the company achieved revenue of RMB 4.277 billion (£535.5 million) and net profit of RMB 217 million (£27.2 million) in the six months to 30 June 2022. Revenue in the second quarter of this period amounted to RMB 2.426 billion (£303.8 million), a 31 per cent increase over the first quarter; Q2 2022 net profit of RMB 159 million (£19.9 million) was 172 per cent higher than in the first quarter of the year.
During the three months to 30 June 2022, Apollo Tyres Ltd. respectively recorded 38 per cent and 14 per cent year-on-year increases in its Indian and European operations. Total revenue from operations for this, the first quarter of the tyre maker’s 2022-23 financial year, amounted to Rs 59.42 billion (£614.72 million) and was 26.9 per cent higher than during the previous year’s first quarter.
After an April to June period punctuated by negative EBIT and a net loss, tyre maker and automotive components supplier Continental says it is “looking ahead to the second half of the year with optimism.” It is also maintaining its full-year outlook despite a current headwind that chief financial officer Katja Dürrfeld describes as being “rather like a hurricane.”
Larger than ever following its acquisition of Cooper Tire in 2021, Goodyear Tire & Rubber reported year-on-year net sales growth of 31 per cent in Q2 2022. Sales amounted to US$5.2 billion in the three months to 30 June 2022, and Goodyear states that even excluding the Cooper transaction, this figure reflects year-on-year growth of over 15 per cent. Other factors driving this increase included improvements in price/mix, higher volume, and increased sales from other tyre-related businesses.
During the second quarter of 2022, Hankook Tire grew its sales by 12.9 per cent year-on-year to KRW 2,039.9 billion (£1.3 billion). Operating profit, squeezed by world events, rising raw material costs and inflation, shrank 6.3 per cent year-on-year to KRW 175.2 billion (£109.9 million). This result nonetheless represented a 39.0 per cent increase compared with the operating profit of KRW 126.0 billion (£79.0 million) achieved in Q1 2022. Hankook attributes this quarter-on-quarter improvement to a growing share of sales attributable to high-value-added products as well as effective pricing strategies.
In a market hit by the systemic impacts of the conflict in Ukraine and the health crisis, the Michelin Group reports that its net income fell by 18.3 per cent despite a year-on-year increase in sales. The tyre maker nevertheless considers this a good result “in an extremely unsettled environment.”
