Bridgestone expects cost rises to persist in fourth quarter

Tokyo – Bridgestone Corp. expects natural rubber (NR) prices to “rise moderately” and crude oil prices to remain high in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a third quarter results presentation from the group.

The Japanese tire maker’s projections show that high energy costs are set to continue at its tire plants worldwide in the final quarter of this year.

For the three months to 30 Sept, Bridgestone posted a Yen239-billion (€1.65 billion) rise in raw material costs, while conversion costs came in Yen65 billion (€0.45 billion) higher than a year ago.

Bridgestone, however, noted a substantial dip in NR prices in the third quarter, citing a 12.1% year-on-year decline in TSR20 prices – to 146 cents/kg – on the Singapore Commodity Exchange.

Singapore prices for RSS3, meanwhile, fell 11.9% year-on-year to 163 cents/kg, while global crude oil rose 28.2% to $91/bbl over the three-month period.

Elsewhere, the third quarter presentation listed significant one-off costs as including: Russia production/export suspension, Yen8 billion (€55.3 million); China lockdowns, Yen12bn (€83.0 million); and US cyber incident, Yen22bn (€152 million).