SUMITOMO Rubber Industries, Japan’s second-biggest tyre maker expects group production to rise by about 5% to 102.17 million tyires, or 554,000 metric tonnes of rubber equivalent in 2013.
This would be its fourth annual increase in production as overseas shipments for new automobiles and replacements have recovered.
Last year, group production totaled 97.17 million tyres pr 525,000 metric tonnes of rubber equivalent. The company expects group net profit to rise to 41 billion yen (US$439 million) this year from a record 35.5 billion yen in 2012.
Sumitimo’s President Ikuji Ikeda is optimistic about the Government’s forthcoming stimulus package but admits that it will take a while for it to impact the economy to enter a cyclical uptrend.
Ikeda also said Sumitomo is determining which location is best for building a new factory with a capacity of at least 15,000 tyres a day by the end of this year.
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