Soaring UHP sales help Hankoook to a record result in H1

ERJ staff report (DS)

Seoul, Korea -- Hankook Tire has announced second quarter year-on-year sales growth of 67 percent in its ultra-high performance (UHP) tyre business, helping the company to global sales growth of 27.5% year-on-year. The company said profits fell by around 2 percent.

KRW1.11 trillion (€697 million) in sales was recorded for the period showing an operating profit margin of 7.1 percent. Hankook said its KRW revenue was boosted in part by currency effects and by higher selling prices for tyres. The tyre industry is facing increased pressure from a 24.3 percent year-on-year raw material cost increase. This is putting pressure on all tyre makers to increase their prices with more than 50% of the cost of tyre production based on raw material costs.

Hankook said sales within the UHP business accounted for KRW116.5 billion ( €73 million), increasing by 67 percent (UHP tyre exports from Korea increased by 48.5 percent). The Europe market saw sales increase by 30 percent while North America also saw an increase of 15 percent. Hankook Tire, which exports to 185 countries, experienced strong sales gains in emerging and newer markets alongside its increased and more diverse global marketing efforts in these markets. Sales to Other Markets increased by 39 percent, while sales to growing markets in Europe such as Russia increased by a substantial 139 percent.

Hankook recorded sales of KRW 1.11 million million (Euro 704 million) in the three months to June 2008, compared with KRW 872 million a year previously. Operating profit stood at KRW 79 000 million (Euro 50 million) down slightly from the KRW 81 000 million recorded a year ago.

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Press release from Hankook