Apollo Tyre profits up 50% as Europe outperforms market

Gurugram, India – Apollo Tyres Ltd has reported a 52% year-on-year increase in first quarter operating profit as its European operations performed “better than the market.”

Operating profit reached IRN10.5 billion (€118 million) for the three months to end of June, on sales 5% higher at IRN62.4 billion, Apollo reported 9 Aug.

The Indian tire maker linked the gains over its fiscal first quarter to its European operations, which outperformed the market “under a tough scenario”.

The results in Europe were achieved “despite the ongoing challenges”, said chairman Onkar Kanwar commenting on the gains.

In India, meanwhile, the focus remained on increasing sales of higher-margin products and improvig the market-mix.

“In India we have done well in the key replacement market segment,” Apollo's chairman commented.

The regional performance along with “stable input costs” helped improve margins during the quarter, Kanwar added.