Hankook Tire Corp. Ltd. posted net sales of 1.7 trillion won for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018. That compares to sales of 1.66 trillion won for the same period in fiscal 2017.
Based on the exchange rate on June 30, 2018, Hankook recorded sales of $1.5 billion for 2Q 2018.
Hankook attributed its overall sales growth in large part to an increase in premium original equipment supply and stable sales growth outside of Korea, "particularly in Europe and China."
The company's operating profit was down 10.4%, from 204.6 billion won to 183.2 billion won ($164.8 million). The company said the decrease was due to the initial operations cost of its U.S.-based consumer tire manufacturing plant in Clarksville, Tenn., as well as an increase in competition in the domestic market.
For the first half of fiscal 2018, Hankook's sales of 33.1 trillion yen (close to $3 billion), up 0.3% compared to 1H 2017.
In North America, Hankook's overall sales in the second quarter were up slightly compared to the same period last year, although 17-inch and greater passenger and light truck tire sales increased as a percentage of total sales. Overall tire sales for the first half were comparatively flat.
Hankook says it will "continue to focus on... premium tire lines through expanding its ultra-high performance tire line-up."
