Hankook Tire Reports Q1 Operating Profit of 126 Billion KRW, Down 32% Year-on-Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Hankook Tire & Technology announced on the 11th that it recorded sales of 1.7906 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 126 billion KRW in the first quarter. Sales increased by 10.8% compared to the same period last year, but operating profit decreased by 32.2%.

The decline in operating profit was due to continuous operating losses at Korean factories (Daejeon and Geumsan plants), rising raw material prices, and the global logistics crisis. The Korean factories saw their operating loss more than double compared to the same period last year due to the impact of a total strike last year and the resurgence of COVID-19.

However, despite the challenging business environment, effective sales price management and optimal distribution strategies in key regions led to an increase in sales, achieving external growth. Additionally, the sales proportion of high-inch passenger car tires of 18 inches or more accounted for about 39.0%. This represents a 1.3 percentage point increase compared to the same period last year, indicating qualitative growth.

In major markets such as Korea, China, and Europe, the proportion of high-inch passenger car tire sales increased. In the Chinese market, the sales proportion of high-inch passenger car tires of 18 inches or more rose by 8.6 percentage points to 49.1% compared to the same period last year. The Korean and European markets also saw increases of 2.3 percentage points and 0.9 percentage points, respectively, compared to the same period last year. In the U.S. market, stable demand recovery and replacement tire sales exceeding market demand were recorded.

In the first quarter of 2022, Hankook Tire demonstrated its technological prowess globally by ranking first in tire performance tests conducted by European automotive magazines. First, the ultra-high-performance SUV tire ‘Ventus S1 evo3 SUV’ won first place in the 2022 summer tire performance test conducted by the SUV specialty magazine ‘Auto Bild Allrad.’

In January this year, the newly launched ultra-high-performance tire ‘Ventus Prime4’ in the European market also received the highest top rating in the 2022 summer tire performance test conducted by ‘Auto Bild.’

Furthermore, Hankook Tire is strengthening its premium competitiveness by expanding OE supply of tires for electric vehicles and flagship models of global premium automakers, such as supplying new car tires for BMW’s first pure electric Gran Coupe ‘i4’ and Mercedes-Benz’s ‘S-Class.’

Starting this May, Hankook Tire will launch a new electric vehicle dedicated tire brand ‘iON’ and take the lead in the electric vehicle market. Through iON, Hankook Tire will introduce the world’s first full lineup of electric vehicle dedicated tires, including summer, winter, and all-season tires. iON will first be launched in the European market in May, followed by sequential product releases in domestic and global markets from August.

Hankook Tire plans to achieve double-digit sales growth compared to last year and aims to reach a 42% sales proportion of high-inch passenger car tires of 18 inches or more this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.