Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. recorded net income of $18 million on sales of $5.7 billion for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011. That compares to a net loss of $177 million on sales of nearly $5.1 billion for the same period last year.
The company posted a net profit in all four quarters in 2011, the first time it has done so since 1999. Operating income for the quarter was up nearly 50% to more than $1.3 billion.
For its fiscal 2011 compared to 2010, Goodyear recorded net income of $321 million (versus a 2010 loss of $216 million) on net sales of $22.7 billion (up 21%). Its income-to-sales ratio was 1.4%.
“I am very pleased with our record sales and segment operating income performance in 2011 as we successfully managed a challenging economic environment,” says Richard Kramer, chairman, CEO and president. “With full-year segment operating income of nearly $1.4 billion worldwide and $276 million in North American Tire -- its best performance since 2000 -- we made strong progress toward our 2013 targets.
“Despite lower fourth quarter unit volume, all four of our tire businesses achieved record fourth-quarter and full-year sales as we improved price/mix and gained branded share in our targeted market segments.”
2012 Outlook
Goodyear expects long-term growth in the global tire industry to continue, but at a slower pace near term than previously forecast due to continued economic weakness in multiple markets. The company expects that its full-year tire unit volume for 2012 will be essentially flat with 2011.
For the full year of 2012 in North America, Goodyear expects the following:
* consumer replacement market to be flat to down 2%;
* consumer original equipment flat to up 3%;
* commercial replacement up between 2% and 6%; and
* commercial original equipment up between 10% and 15%.
For the full year in Europe, the consumer replacement industry is expected to be flat to down 2%; consumer original equipment down between 5% and 9%; commercial replacement down between 3% and 8%; and commercial original equipment down between 20% and 25%.
Goodyear anticipates its raw material costs for the first quarter of 2012 will increase between 20% and 25% over the prior year. Smaller increases are expected for the second quarter of 2012 compared with the year-ago quarter.
For the second half of 2012, the company expects raw material costs to decrease compared with the second half of 2011. For the full year of 2012, Goodyear expects its raw material costs will increase approximately 5% compared with 2011.
