The corona crisis has left its mark on Bridgestone Corporation, with the Japanese firm reporting for the 2020 fiscal year its first net loss in 69 years, a loss of 23.3 billion yen (£159.2 million). The operating result also fell significantly: While revenue decreased 14.6 per cent to 3.0 trillion yen (£20.5 billion), adjusted operating profit plummeted 35.0 per cent to 222.9 billion yen (£1.5 billion), representing a 7.4 per cent return on sales.
Against the backdrop of the global coronavirus pandemic, Michelin Group reported sales of 20.5 billion euros in 2020, down 15.2 per cent. Segment operating income was 1.9 billion euros, representing 9.2 per cent of sales. Net income amounted to 625 million euros and was thus 63.9 per cent lower than in the previous year.
Jukka Moisio is “extremely proud” the Nokian Tyres team’s response to the challenges it faced in 2020. But no amount of pride can compensate for sales and income lost due to lockdowns and other restrictions. As expected, the Finnish tyre maker reported reduced sales and earnings for the year.
Apollo Tyres reports improved sales and significantly higher net profit in the three months to 31 December 2020, the third quarter of its 2020-21 financial year. The bottom-line result for the year to date is admittedly less impressive, as net profits have been watered down by costs associated with the restructuring of the Apollo Vredestein facility in Enschede, the Netherlands.
Titan International is currently in the midst of its planning process for 2021, and Paul Reitz says the company has “plenty of reasons to be optimistic.” He opines that Titan has navigated the challenges brought by the corona pandemic well and is thus positioning itself for a “stronger 2021”. The president and chief executive officer’s comments came as Titan International reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2020, a period in which it managed to reduce its net loss by more than a third compared with Q3 2019.
Goodyear Tire and Rubber reported Q3 2020 net losses of US$2 million compared to net income of $88 million in the same quarter a year ago. The company reported segment operating income of $162 million in Q3 2020, down $132 million from a year ago. According to the company, the decline primarily reflects lower volume, reduced factory utilization and lower earnings from other tyre-related businesses.
Apollo Tyres had to accept a drop in its turnover and earnings in the half-year to 30 September 2020, with the notable exception of sales in Europe. The company’s global sales in the first half of its current April 2020 to March 2021 financial year were Rs 70.62 billion (£728.85 million), 13.9 per cent less than the sales it gained a year earlier. Net profit dropped 71.1 per cent year-on-year to Rs 650 million (£6.71 million).
Good news in a year where this has been in short supply: Michelin reports that global demand for its tyres “picked up more strongly than expected” in the third quarter of 2020 after falling steeply in the second quarter. That said, demand is still below where it was this time last year.
Continental has reported its Q3 2020 financial results, and these are better than many expected. Although quarterly consolidated sales of 10.295 billion euros were 7.3 per cent below the 11.303 billion euros reported in Q3 2019, the adjusted EBIT margin of 8.1 per cent was 2.5 per cent higher. The Rubber Technologies division, which includes Continental’s tyre business, was crucial to this success.
In spite of COVID-19, Prinx Chengshan managed to increase its net profit in the first half of 2020, a feat aided in part by a prompt response to the pandemic. Sales revenue for Prinx Chengshan (Cayman) Holding Limited and its subsidiaries in the six months to 30 June 2020 came to RMB 2,844.0 million (£317.2 million), 1.0 per cent less than in the same period of 2019. Gross profit rose 9.9 per cent year-on-year to RMB 606.3 million (£66.7 million) and net profit increased 1.6 per cent to RMB 265.3 million (£29.2 million).
Goodyear Tire & Rubber reported a Q2 2020 net loss of $696 million ($2.97 per share) compared to net income of $54 million ($0.23 per share) a year ago in financial results released 31 July 2020. Goodyear’s second quarter 2020 sales were $2.1 billion, down 41 per cent compared with a year ago. According to the company, the decline was driven by “lower industry volume and reduced sales from other tyre-related businesses.” However, there are signs that demand is improving.
In the first quarter of 2020 Toyo Tire Corporation reported net sales of 82,094 million yen a decrease of 8,049 million yen (-9.8 per cent) compared with the first quarter of 2019. Its operating income for the quarter was 6,936 million compared to 10,174 million yen (-31.87%) in the first quarter of 2019.
Hankook Tire has reported consolidated global sales of KRW 1.4358 trillion (£945.0 million) for the first quarter of 2020, around 12.6 per cent less than in the opening quarter of last year. Operating profit decreased 24.8 per cent year-on-year to KRW 105.9 billion (£69.7 million).
Prinx Chengshan
Goodyear
Apollo
Toyo