During a conference call to discuss Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s second quarter financial results (see “Goodyear: a record $5.6 billion in quarterly sales”), Chairman, CEO and President Richard Kramer said while the company is pleased with its level of earnings (a net income of $47 million on net sales of $5.6 billion), it realizes that it is not sustainable.
Goodyear expects to make steady, smaller steps toward its goals going forward, Kramer noted.
In March, the company announced it is targeting record segment operating income of $1.6 billion in 2013, with its North American Tire business unit representing $450 million of that (see the report by clicking here).
Goodyear is on the right track to make its 2013 targets and create sustainable economic value, Kramer told its investors.
Still dealing with sluggish markets following the great recession, the company is balancing selling in to the dealer channel and selling out to consumers. Consumer demand has not yet snapped back to pre-recession levels, he noted, although improvement is expected. Dealers and consumers are still feeling uncertainty about the current “macro-economic situation,” he said.
Rising raw material costs are still an issue, Kramer noted, with the bulk of raw material increases expected to come in the second half of the year. “We’ll focus on recovering increases in raw material costs with the right price/mix and innovative products."
And he says the company is currently at a point where it’s comfortable about inventory levels, and is not looking to increase inventory going forward.
