SEOUL, South Korea—Nexen Tire Corp. suffered a 25.2-percent drop in operating income last year, while sales grew 3.7 percent to $1.74 billion.
Operating income fell to $164.3 million, dropping the operating ratio nearly four points to 9.4 percent.
Net income dropped 27.2 percent to $113.5 million.
Nexen did not provide commentary on its results, but the data released show a decrease in sales in the fourth quarter, including a double-digit decline in North America, which Nexen attributed to weak consumer purchasing power and the strong Korean won to U.S. dollar exchange rate.
For the year, Nexen's sales in North America fell 14.6 percent to $368.7 million, the company's data show. North America accounts for 21 percent of Nexen's global sales.
Sales in Europe, by contrast, grew 15 percent last year despite a weak fourth quarter to $389.5 million edging past North America to become the company's largest sales region.
Nexen is building a plant in Zatec, Czech Republic, that's due on stream this year. The $1 billion plant is rated at 12 million car and light truck tires a year at full capacity.
The firm's business in high-performance tires fared somewhat better, falling 9.4 percent to $187.2 million.