CLERMONT-FERRAND, France—Michelin's operating profit before non-recurring items rose to $2.84 billion, or 12.2 percent of sales, compared to $2.4 billion in 2014, the French tire maker said during its financial report, which recently was released.
The figure reflected a $255 million increase from volume growth and the negative impact of $757 million for actively managing the price mix.
The latter effect was, however, mostly offset by a $655 million gain from lower raw materials costs, Michelin said.
The company reported a significant increase in operating margin because of a solid second half; particularly for passenger car and light truck tires.
“The group was able to continue leveraging the favorable effect of currency movements, adding $482 million in a particularly competitive marketplace shaped by overcapacity in Asia and falling raw materials prices,” the firm said in the release.
“In 2015, we successfully drove profitable, over-market growth in tonnages sold and gained new market share in all our businesses,” CEO Jean-Dominique Senard said in a statement.
Senard said Michelin would continue its focus in four areas for 2016—enhancing customer service, streamlining operating procedures, deploying digital solutions and increasing the empowerment of teams.
In 2016, said Michelin, demand for passenger car, light truck and truck tires is expected to continue rising in the mature markets and remain in-line with 2015 trends in the new markets.
Demand for specialty tires is expected to continue to be affected by mining company inventory drawdowns, it added.