Hankook Tire buoyed by strong pricing, exchange rate effect

Seoul – Hankook Tire has reported growth in third quarter performance, due mainly to strong pricing and the impact of foreign exchange rates.

The South Korean tire maker reported a 6.4% year-on-year increase in operating profit to KRW192 billion (€142 million), on 26% higher sales of KRW2,300 billion, said a Hankook announcement 2 Nov.

Sales in original equipment and 18-inch and larger tire sectors contributed to strong financial performance, while the replacement tire sector saw “slight downturn in demand,” said the tire maker.

The large-diameter tire segment, Hankook went on to say, remained “an important growth driver” in the third quarter.

Global sales of large tires accounted for 41% of the company’s total passenger car tire sales, up 4.7 percentage points (pp) compared to last year.

Broken down by region, Hankook recorded the largest growth in high-rim-sized passenger car tires in the Chinese market, with a growth of 8.9pp to 52.3% year-on-year.

The segment reported an increase of 4.4pp to 30% in Europe, a 4.2pp rise in Korea to 51.4%, and a 3.6pp increase to 51% in the US.

For the full year, Hankook said it was aiming for a double-digit growth, “even though the market uncertainties triggered by the economic downturn and surging energy prices are likely to persist.”

The company said it would focus on further increasing the share of large tires in total sales and “becoming the leader in the electric vehicle tire segment.”