Hankook sales jump 11.5% in 2010

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Seoul -- Global sales for 2010 at Hankook Tire Co. have jumped by 11.5 percent to KRW 5.4 trillion (Euro 3452 million), the company announced 24 Feb in its end of year report.

And the Korean firm noted an operating profit of KRW 585.8 billion (Euro 374 million) in tyre sales, an increase of 6.7 percent year on year.

Hankook said the key drivers for this increase were surging sales in the emerging markets, as well as growth in the company's strategic markets in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

In the emerging markets, Hankook recorded an increase of sales in Latin America and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region of 64.7 percent and 49.7 percent respectively.

The company also said that sales of its ultra high performance (UHP) tyres grew by 42.2 percent from the previous year, and noted that there was a sharp increase in the percentage of UHP tyres being supplier to manufacturers in Korea (80.7 percent) and China (57.3 percent) compared to 2009.

The tyre company said its production bases in Hungary, Korea and China operated at 100 percent capacity throughout 2010.

“2010 was the cornerstone of a new era for Hankook Tire, as we achieved record performance and set new plans for further growth, including the expansion of Hankook's production capacity with new plants in Indonesia and China,” said Seung Hwa Suh, Hankook Tire ceo.

He added, “In 2011 as we celebrate our 70th anniversary, Hankook's priorities are to build a sustainable and creative corporate culture as well as to further initiate environment-friendly approaches as a leading global tire company.”

Looking to the future, Hankook said in the report that it aims to achieve global sales of KRW 6.06 trillion (Euro 3.9 million) in 2011.

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Press release from Hankook Tire Company