Pirelli & C. S.p.A. reported increased operating and net income for the quarter that ended March 31 on 6.5 % higher sales, with the consumer business outperforming the commercial business.
Operating earnings rose 4.5 % to US$236.9 million while net income was up 12.2 % to US$114.3 million. Revenue rose to US$1.77 billion, leaving the operating margin essentially unchanged at 13.4 %.
Pirelli attributed the earnings performance on a combination of positive effects from the price/mix correlation, manufacturing efficiencies, lower raw materials expenditures and foreign exchange rate changes.
Pirelli’s consumer business (car/light truck and motorcycle tires) outperformed the commercial sector, reporting a 9.6 % sales improvement vs. a 3.8 % sales drop.
Consumer business sales rose to US$1.4 billion, although unit volume was up only 0.4 %, Pirelli said. The growing weight of higher value-added premium products (now nearly 59 % of the business) helped push the revenue up. Premium unit sales grew 10 % in the quarter, Pirelli said, with especially high growth in Asia/Pacific, Middle East/Africa and Latin America.
Overall, Pirelli’s North American business grew 17.3 % in the period to US$230 million, or 13 % of global revenue.
Commercial business unit volume sank 6.7 % in the period, Pirelli said, with larger decreases noted in Latin America, Europe and China.