New Sumitomo plant will be built in China

July 28, 2010

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. is planning to build a new tire factory in China, according to a company spokesman. That will give the company eight tire plants in Asia.

According to a "Bloomberg Businessweek" article in March, India, Brazil and Russia also were considered as locations for the plant.

The factory will be the company's second tire plant in China. Sumitomo also produces tires in Japan (four plants), Thailand and Indonesia.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries recorded net income of 5.8 billion yen on net sales of 134.1 billion yen for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010. That compares to a net loss of more than 7.5 billion yen on sales of 108.9 billion yen for the same period a year ago.

Based on the exchange rate on March 31, 2010, Sumitomo posted net income of $63.3 million on net sales of more than $1.4 billion. The net income-to-sales ratio was 4.3%.