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).
Top management at Apollo Tyres have announced they’ve accepted a pay cut during the market difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The tyre maker says it is also preparing to implement further measures.
Private equity firm Warburg Pincus is investing around £117 million in Apollo Tyres via a subsidiary. On 26 February, the tyre maker’s Board of Directors approved the issue of up to 108 million compulsorily convertible preference shares, each with a face value of Rs 100, to Emerald Sage Investment Ltd. The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Following internal discussions and review of a commissioned report produced by Ernst & Young, the Nominations & Remuneration Committee (NRC) within the Board of Directors at Apollo Tyres Ltd. has recommended changes to the compensation packages Onkar and Neeraj Kanwar receive from the company.
In its 2018 Autumn Imperial Decorations, the Government of Japan has conferred upon Onkar S Kanwar the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. The chairman of Apollo Tyres Ltd. received this recognition for his contributions towards strengthening the economic relations between Japan and India, and for promoting Japanese company’s entry into the Indian market.
Hungary has bestowed the Officers Cross (Civilian Division) of the ‘Order of Merit’ upon Onkar S Kanwar, chairman of Apollo Tyres Ltd. This award was conferred in recognition of Kanwar’s work towards strengthening Hungarian-Indian economic relations through the company’s investment in Hungary.
During the final quarter of its 2017-18 financial year, net sales at Apollo Tyres rose 22 per cent year-on-year to Rs 39.82 billion (£437.3 million). Operating profit increased 33 per cent to Rs 5.59 billion (£61.4 million), while net profit in the three months to 31 March 2018 was up ten per cent to Rs 2.50 billion (£27.5 million).
After opening its new European factory last year, Apollo Tyres is now focusing on expanding its manufacturing footprint at home. A ceremony was held today to lay the foundation stone of the tyre maker’s fifth plant in India and seventh facility worldwide. The new factory is located in Chinnapanduru, Andhra Pradesh state, and is expected to enter operation in mid-2020. Apollo Tyres is investing close to Rs 18 billion (£209.4 million) in the first phase of the new plant project.
Higher sales didn’t lead to higher profits for Apollo Tyres in the first half of its current financial year. In the six months to 30 September, the tyre maker’s revenue rose 5.0 per cent to Rs 66.8 billion (£784.1 million) and operating profit stood at Rs 6.7 billion (£78.6 million). Net profit, at Rs 2.3 billion (£27.0 million), was down 59.1 per cent from the first half of the previous financial year.
The opening of Apollo Tyres’ Gyöngyöshalász plant, 100km east of Budapest, marks a significant event for both the company’s global aspirations and the Indian tyre industry – the 72 hectare greenfield factory, begun in April 2015, is the first inaugurated by an Indian tyre company to come online outside the domestic market. The importance was reflected in the event itself, with some of the plant’s cavernous warehousing housing around 1,300 guests, among whose number was the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, who declared Apollo’s sixth global tyre manufacturing plant – its second in Europe after the existing Netherlands facility acquired alongside Vredestein – open on 7 April.
On the occasion of publishing its full-year 2015/2016 financials, Apollo Tyres has reported sales of 117 billion rupees (£1.214 billion; 1.537 billion euros; US$1.757 billion) compared with 127.256 billion rupees in 2014/2015. During the same period (2015/2016) operating profit grew 3 per cent to close at 20.4 billion rupees, up from 19.8 billion rupees. Net profit increased 12 per cent to 10.9 billion from 9.8 billion rupees the year before.
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