Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. posted net income of 16.7 billion yen on net sales of 466.8 billion yen for the first three quarters of the year ended Sept. 30, 2017. That compares to income of 8.5 billion yen on sales of 410.2 billion yen in the year-ago period.
Based on the exchange rate on Sept. 30, 2017, Yokohama recorded net income $148.2 million on sales of $4.1 billion. The company’s income-to-sales ratio was 3.6%.
Net sales were the highest-ever for the first three quarters in the company’s history. Profit was up 96.4% and net sales were up 13.8% versus the year-ago period. Operating income was up 39.7% to 26.4 billion year over year.
The company attributed the improved fiscal performance to its tires segment. Operating income in that segment rose 14.8%, to 19.0 billion yen ($169.1 million), on a 7.3% increase in sales, to 333.1 billion yen ($2.9 billion).
Yokohama says it achieved the gain in operating profitability despite the adverse effect of upward movement in prices for raw materials. In the original equipment market for tires, Yokohama’s sales increased solidly overseas, led by especially strong gains in China and Russia.
Yokohama posted gains in unit volume, in sales value, and in operating income in replacement tires. Those gains included sales expansion in overseas markets, led by strong growth in Russia and in Southeast Asia.
The company says its performance in Japan benefited from the successful launch of the IceGuard 6 studless snow tire and from strong sales for other high-value-added products.
In the Alliance Tire Group (ATG) segment, sales of tires for agricultural machinery, industrial machinery, and other off-highway applications increased in the original equipment market and in the replacement market to 46.5 billion yen ($413 million) in line with management’s expectations.
Yokohama abides by the full-year fiscal projections that it announced in August 2017 for sales and earnings. Those projections call for net income to total 30 billion yen on operating income of 50 billion yen and net sales of 660 billion yen.
