Update: Hankook Tire posts sales and earnings declines

ERJ staff report (PR)

Seoul / Neu-Isenburg, Germany – Hankook Tire has posted a 7.4-percent drop in second quarter operating earnings to €177.8 million, on sales of €1,175.9 million – 11.2 percent lower than in the same period last year.

A company press statement did not include comment the year-on-year declines, though a spokesman indicated that they were linked to currency factors.

The USD/KRW and Euro/KWR ratios were down 8.2 percent to 1,030.4 and 3.6 percent to 1,412.93 respectively, compared to the second quarter of last year, Hankook's figures show.

The tire maker, meanwhile, highlighted its “robust sales” in the ultra-high performance (UHP) tire segment and “consistent” investments in new technologies.

The UHP tire segment accounts for 30% of the company’s consolidated quarterly sales, said Hankook’s 29 July announcement. The company, it added, is continuing its business growth in the global automotive market including Europe.

Current investments at Hankook Tire, meanwhile, include a new R&D centre being built in Daejeon, Korea.