Aeolus: Upgraded portfolio drives up profits 

Jiaozuo, China – Aeolus posted €27 million (206 million yuan) annual net profit in 2019, up from €2.4 million in 2018, the Jiaozuo, Henan-based group has reported. 

Revenue last year fell by 5% to €781 million, said the company’s annual report in March. Net profit less non-recurring items reached €18 million, compared with €3 million net loss in 2018.

Backed by Pirelli’s technology, Aeolus had been increasing the share of higher-end products in its portfolio and was able to raise its gross profit margin to 21% in 2019, compared with 19% in 2018 and 10% in 2017, said the annual report.

Overseas markets continued to be more profitable with 26% gross margin last year, although export sales dropped by 14% to €286 million on account of growing trade conflicts, said the report. 

The company’s original equipment sales rose by 11% last year to €309 million.

In 2019 Aeolus produced 5.3 million unit radial tires, up 1.7% from 2018. Sales declined by 1.5% to 5.2 million units. Inventory jumped 19% to nearly 900,000 units. 

he company’s annual capacity stood at 7.8 million truck/bus tires, 130,000 radial engineering tires and 600,000 bias engineering tires – with 74%, 100% and 52% utilisation rate respectively during 2019.

Last year the company rolled out 182 new tire models, including 128 for truck and bus tires and 54 for engineering tires. In January it became one of a handful of global tire makers able to manufacture 57’’-or-above products with the launch of jumbo tire 46/90R57.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2019 the country’s heavy-duty trucks recorded production of 1.19 million units and 1.17 million unit sales, with 7.3% and 2.3% growth from 2018, driving up demand for full-steel radial tires.

This was against the backdrop of a 7.5% drop in China’s 2019 overall vehicle production to 25.7 million units and a 8.2% drop in sales to 25.8 million units.