NOK seals unit posts sharp drop in earnings

Tokyo – NOK Corp.’s Seals business has posted a 68.1% year-on-year decline in operating income, to Yen3,161 million (€23 million) on first quarter revenues down 3.6% to Yen81,005 million.

Over the three months to 30 June, sales of automotive sealing products declined largely due to vehicle and related production cuts, the Tokyo group reported 2 Aug.

The negative impact, it noted, offset gains made from foreign exchange movements, as well as the pass-through of “soaring” raw materials costs to selling prices.

Sales to manufacturers of general industrial machinery declined on Covid lockdowns in China among other factors. These impacts offset “brisk domestic demand” from manufacturers of construction machinery, machine tools and robots.

Meanwhile, NOK linked the earnings decline at its sales unit to “soaring raw materials costs, higher expenses and the effect of decreased sales.”

Among other markets, NOK holds a 70% share in Japan and 50% globally of the market for ‘oil seals’ – used for the containment of oil in a wide range of equipment and machinery.