AKRON (Aug. 5)—Goodyear recorded a profitable second quarter as all seven of the firm's businesses moved into the black but remained in the red for the first half.
The company had net income of $25.1 million, an improvement over the loss of $53 million in last year´s second period. Sales rose 20 percent to a new quarterly high of $4.5 billion. The sales increase reflects improved pricing and product mix as well as higher unit volume, the tire maker said.
Goodyear, however, found itself in the loss column for the first half although it improved over last year. Its net loss for the first six months was $51.8 million compared to a loss of $249.5 million during the year-ago period. Sales for the half hit a new high of $8.8 billion, an increase of 20.6 percent over 2003's first half.
North American Tire, Goodyear's largest division and the one that has suffered the most during the firm's long downturn, had net income of $30.4 million compared to a $10.2 million loss in last year's second quarter. The division's sales jumped 17.1 percent to a second quarter record of about $2 billion. Its volume increased 1.6 percent to 25.7 million.
The business recorded a loss in the first half of $1.3 million, an improvement over its loss of $76.7 million last year.