Hankook Tire Posts Q1 Operating Profit of KRW 506.9 Billion, Up 43% Year-on-Year

Sales Reach KRW 5.31 Trillion, Up 7% Year-on-Year
Electrification Transition Delivers Results Amid Tariffs and High Oil Prices

Hankook Tire & Technology (hereafter Hankook Tire), the tire company of the Hankook & Company Group, announced on May 8 that it recorded consolidated global sales of KRW 5.3139 trillion and operating profit of KRW 506.9 billion for the first quarter of 2026. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 7.0% and operating profit rose by 42.9%.

In the tire division, Hankook Tire posted sales of KRW 2.5657 trillion, up 9.3% year-on-year, and operating profit of KRW 437.5 billion, up 31.1% from the previous year. The operating margin stood at 17.1%. Despite global uncertainties such as tariffs and high oil prices, the company’s transition to electrification contributed to the improved results. Performance was driven by expanded supply of original equipment tires for electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as increased replacement tire sales in major regions including Europe, Korea, and China.

Hanon Systems, which became a subsidiary of Hankook Tire from 2025 and operates in thermal management, recorded first-quarter 2026 sales of KRW 2.7482 trillion, a 5% increase year-on-year, and operating profit of KRW 97.2 billion, a 361.1% year-on-year increase, continuing its growth trajectory.

For the first quarter of 2026, the proportion of sales from 18-inch or larger high-inch passenger car and light truck tires reached 49.1%, up 2 percentage points from the same period last year. Among original equipment tire sales for passenger cars and light trucks, the proportion of electric vehicle tires was 29.6%, an increase of 6.6 percentage points year-on-year.

In the first quarter of 2026, Hankook Tire further supplied original equipment tires for internal combustion engine and electric vehicles to global premium automobile brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Ford. Currently, in the global automobile market, the company supplies original equipment tires to more than 300 models from over 50 brands, including Porsche, demonstrating its top-tier technology and outstanding quality competitiveness worldwide.

Hankook Tire continues to respond to the electrification market with its world-first full lineup of electric vehicle exclusive tire brand, iON. Leveraging technology accumulated even before the commercialization of electric vehicles, the company is expanding its global market presence and currently operates a product portfolio of approximately 300 specifications ranging from 16 to 22 inches.

Meanwhile, Hankook Tire is pursuing an expansion of its global supply capacity based on the expansion of its Tennessee plant in the United States and Hungary plant in Europe. The company aims to strengthen partnerships with premium brands to achieve a share of at least 51% for high-inch tires and over 33% for electric vehicle tires among original equipment sales of passenger car and light truck tires.

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