Hankook Tire reports strong growth on lower costs

Seoul – Hankook Tire & Technology has seen its first-quarter operating profit grow significantly, due mainly to external developments such as lower costs.

The Korean tire maker reported a 108.8% year-on-year increase in first-quarter operating profit to KRW399 billion (€276 million), on 1.1% higher sales of KRW2.1 trillion.

In a 30 April statement, Hankook linked the improved margins to ‘external changes’ such as the stabilisation of raw material prices and freight costs.

“Prices of raw materials such as synthetic rubber and carbon black were maintained at a decent level, as did ocean freight costs, contributing to this quarter’s solid performance,” it said.

The growth, Hankook said, was achieved despite the global economic downturn and the tensions in the Middle East.

In particular, Hankook said its focus on electric vehicle tires had brought it to “the forefront of the worldwide EV tire market”.

“Hankook Tire has yielded success by leading the EV tire market and expanding sales of high-value products,” said the statement.

During 2023, Hankook said it continued diversifying its portfolio for the EV tire brand iON and is currently selling 202 tire specifications ranging from 16 to 22 inches.

This year, Hankook said it aimed to boost the proportion of EV tires in its passenger car and light truck (PCLT) OE supply to 25%.

In passenger car and light truck tire sales, the proportion of sales of high-inch passenger tires (18 inches and above) was 46.8%, up 3.3 percentage points year-on-year.

Breaking down by region, the share of high-inch passenger tires was highest in China at 62.5%, followed by Korea at 56.5%, North America at 56.4%, and Europe at 37.4%.