SEOUL, South Korea (Jan. 13, 2012)—Hankook Tire Co. Ltd.'s sales grew nearly 21 percent last year to $5.87 billion, but operating profits slid 8.8 percent on the effects of rising raw materials costs.
“In spite of uncertain global economic conditions and sharp increase in raw material prices, we were able to continue our unprecedented growth in 2011 by firmly placing our priorities to deliver utmost quality and technology in our products,” said Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO.
Operating income slipped to $512.5 million, or 8.7 percent of sales. That was down nearly three percentage points from 11.6 percent in fiscal 2010. The company did not report net income at this time.
Hankook reported sales increases of 41 and 34 percent, respectively, in Europe and North America, to go with 20-percent growth in Asia/Pacific and Latin America. Earlier Hankook reported its sales in the U.S. exceeded $1 billion.
Demand for Hankook's utra-high-performance tires continued to be high, with sales rising 59 percent in Europe, 27 percent in North America and 15 percent in Asia/Pacific, the company said.
Likewise, Hankook's deliveries of OE tires to its automotive customers shot up 52 percent, including a near doubling of shipments of UHP tires.