Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. released record figures for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2011. Global consolidated sales totaled nearly 1.7 trillion won, a year-over-year increase of 23%. The company's third-quarter operating profit was 129.9 billion won.
Based on the exchange rate on Sept. 30, 2011, Hankook posted sales of $1.4 billion and operating profit of $110 million.
Hankook Tire has been carrying out aggressive marketing activities, including the DTM sponsorship and the "Be One with it" campaign this year, resulting in increased brand recognition, the company says. The expanded brand value was the greatest contributor to the company's upward performance, proven by the continuous growth Hankook Tire posted every quarter in 2011.
Hankook Tire has recorded balanced growth in all markets from last year's third quarter. The sales growth was particularly evident in the developed markets. Hankook Tire sold 49.6% and 30.1% more tires than last year in Europe and North America, respectively. In the emerging markets, the company achieved 36.2% and 26.7% year-over-year growths in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions, respectively.
Positive performance was shown in Hankook Tire's overseas original equipment business, recording a 65.7% year-over-year growth. Hankook Tire in 2011 made major announcements of new fitment installment contracts with the top automobile brands including 2011 Ford Explorer and the BMW Mini models.
Based on wider recognition in the high-end market, Hankook Tire saw robust growth with a 47.7% year-over-year increase in sales of ultra-high performance (UHP) tires. The company's Korea operation more than doubled the sales of UHP tire supply to domestic automakers, and sold 79.6% more UHP tires to overseas automobile brands than last year.
Hankook Tire today also announced the successful completion of its second Rácalmás plant production unit in Hungary. The new additional manufacturing unit is expected to boost Hankook's production volume in Europe. Also, the building of Hankook Tire's new plants in China and Indonesia, which would drastically expand the production capacity within the following years, is well underway.
