Apollo posts 3% annual profit despite import pressures

Gurgaon, India – Apollo Tyres Ltd has posted a 3-percent rise in operating profit for its 2015-16 fiscal year to 31 March, with the figure rising to 20.4 billion rupees (€281.8 million).

The company’s net sales were down from 127 billion rupees to 117 billion rupees in the said period, with a net profit of 10.9 billion rupees.

The company cited Chinese imports as the main contributor the decline in domestic revenue.

“China, occupied close to 30 percent of the Indian replacement market for radial truck tires, which not only impacted the domestic truck-bus radials, but also the truck-bus bias segment,” said chairman Onkar Kanwar commenting on the results.

With India having no anti-dumping duties, he said, and numerous other geographies having imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese tires, India has opened its market for low-cost tire imports from China.

Apollo acquired German online retailer Reifen.com during the financial year. The acquisition, it said, carries potential in developing this business model across geographies.