Hankook fiscal annual income slides 14%

Seoul, South Korea – Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. suffered a 14.3-percent drop in operating income in fiscal 2015 compared to . 2014, as sales fell 2.3 percent to $5.74 billion (€5.1 billion).

The firm’s operating income for the full year was $782.4 million, or 13.6 percent of revenue. That was down nearly two full points from fiscal 2014.

Hankook did not comment on its full-year results in its latest earnings release, focusing instead on the fourth quarter alone, where the company’s results were nearly on par with the 2014 fourth quarter “despite  the sluggish global economy.”

During the quarter ended 31 Dec, Hankook’s ultra-high-performance (UHP) segment grew 6.4 percent over the 2014 final quarter; UHP now accounts for one-third of the company’s overall revenue, Hankook said.

The Seoul-based tire maker also said sales in North America grew 20 percent during the quarter on the strength of 29-percent UHP sales growth.

The company said it continues to enhance its presence in North America and Europe by focusing on expanding sales in the UHP and SUV tire segments.