Hankook Tire Co., South Korea’s leading tyre maker, said Tuesday its fourth-quarter operating profit moved up 14.6 percent from a year earlier, helped by growth in sales of high-value added products.
Operating profit, a key indicator of business performance, came to 254.7 billion won (US$236.1 million) in the October-December period, up from 222.3 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
“The main contributing factor for the fourth quarter was solid sales increases of ultra-high performance tyres along with demand for winter tyres,” a corporate source said.
Sales edged up 0.5 percent on-year to a little shy of 1.71 trillion won in the cited period from 1.70 trillion won a year earlier.
The company did not disclose its net profit in its latest report, saying it will be released at a later date.
For the whole of 2013, the tyremaker said operating profit surpassed 1.03 trillion won, a 12.2 percent jump from 918.8 billion won tallied for 2012, with sales gaining 0.3 percent to just under 7.06 trillion won from 7.04 trillion won reported the year before.
The size of the operating profit marks the first time that a South Korean tyre manufacturer surpassed the 1 trillion won mark, the company said.
The company, one of the fastest growing time manufacturers in the world, said the latest sales and profit report is noteworthy because it has been reached despite sluggish economic conditions.
In the New Year, Hankook said it is aiming to push up operating profit to 1.08 trillion won.
The company recently signed so-called original equipment fitment agreements with Mercedes-Benz as well as shipping tyres to best-selling Japanese auto brands.
Source: Global Post
Published: 28 Jan 2014