Cooper: mixed earnings report on 20 percent higher sales

ERJ staff report (TB)

Findlay, Ohio -- Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. suffered a slight drop in operating income for the quarter ended March 31 due to the negative effects of higher raw materials costs, but reported 3-percent higher net income on 20.1-percent higher sales.

Operating profit fell 2.3 percent to $32.1 million, or 3.5 percent of sales, on $164 million in added raw materials outlays, the company said. These higher costs were offset by $128 million in improving price and mix benefits, as well as other gains.

Net income rose to $18.5 million, or 2 percent of sales.

Cooper's North America Tire Operations achieved a 58.3-percent improvement in operating income to $21.5 million on 21.9-percent higher sales of $647.9 million. The earnings increase resulted from improvements in pricing/mix, higher volumes and enhanced manufacturing and lower restructuring and product liability costs, which more than offset $90 million in increased raw materials costs.

Cooper reported 9.2-percent higher light vehicle tyre shipments in North America, which were slightly above the industrywide shipment increase of 8.8 percent. The company also reported significant improvements in sales of its Roadmaster commercial tyres.

The Findlay-based tyre maker's International Tyre Operations' operating income fell 11 percent to $20.1 million, pricipally because of higher materials costs but also due to lower volumes.

International sales increased 23.8 percent to $363.4 million despite lower units shipped. Cooper's Asian operations shipped 2 percent fewer tyres in the period while the European activities shipped 10 percent fewer.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)

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