TOKYO—Bridgestone Corp.'s operating and net income for the quarter that ended March 31 were essentially unchanged from the 2014 period, while sales fell 3.5 percent.
Sales rose to $7.5 billion, while operating and net income were both off .5 percent to $975.3 million and $600.6 million, respectively. Bridgestone said earnings suffered from a worsened price/mix/volume component, while it benefited from foreign exchange gains and lower spending on raw materials.
The tire division reported 3.4 percent gains in sales and operating income for the quarter to $6.31 billion and $917.8 million, respectively, keeping the operating ratio at 14.6 percent.
The Tokyo-based tire maker said unit sales for passenger, light truck and medium truck tires rose in the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific, while sales in Japan fell substantially as Japanese consumers bought heavily in the fourth quarter due to a consumption tax increase that took effect this year.
Sales in the Americas fell 8.1 percent to $2.38 billion, while operating income dropped 13.2 percent to $376.67 million.
In North America, Bridgestone reported a 7 percent drop in car and light truck unit sales, while truck and bus tire unit sales were unchanged from a year ago. Within the car-light truck sales breakout, replacement sales fell 3 percent while original equipment shipments jumped 12 percent. Regarding truck/bus tires, OE business climbed 14 percent while replacement sales were off 1 percent.