Beginning May 1, 2014, 50 Bridgestone Corp. executives will be given stock acquisition rights that will go into effect when they leave the company.
Those executives being given the stock options are:
* four “inside” members of the company's board of directors (all outside directors are excluded), and
* 46 corporate officers who do not currently serve on the board.
Bridgestone says the issuance of the stock acquisition rights “is intended to heighten the motivation and morale for enhancing the company’s long-term corporate value of the company's directors, excluding the outside directors, and corporate officers who do not concurrently serve as directors, and to promote the sharing of interests with the shareholders.”
The announcement of the stock options, which will remain open from May 1, 2014, to April 30, 2034, follows the company’s strong fiscal 2013 financial results.
Bridgestone posted net income of 202 billion yen on net sales of more than 3.5 trillion yen for its fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2013. That compares to income of 171.6 billion yen on sales of 3 trillion yen the year before.
Based on the exchange rate on Dec. 31, 2014, Bridgestone recorded net income of close to $2.1 billion on net sales of $36.5 billion for its fiscal 2013. Its income-to-sales ratio was 5.6%.
Bridgestone’s operating income was up 53%, from 286 billion yen to 438.1 billion yen.
Tire sales, which account for 85.1% of the company’s total sales, totaled more than 3 trillion yen, or $31.1 billion. Sales in the Americas accounted for 54.4% of total tire sales, or $16.9 billion.
