Bridgestone 1999 earnings, sales fall

TOKYO (Feb. 23)—Bridgestone Corp., suffering the effects of a sharply appreciating yen, reported declines in both sales and earnings in fiscal 1999. Earnings fell 15.2 percent and sales dropped 6.8 percent, despite increased unit sales of tires in nearly every principal market. Declines in sales of agricultural and off-the-road tires and continuing business difficulties in Latin America held back the firm´s performance in the Americas. Overall, earnings slipped to $777 million while sales fell to $18.3 billion. Tire-related sales were off 7.5 percent to $14.4 billion, while non-tire products revenue slipped 4 percent to $4.15 billion.