BOULDER CITY, Colo.—Polyurethane tire developer Amerityre Corp. fell into the red for the second quarter and six months, ended Dec. 31, on lower sales in both periods.
The firm's second quarter loss ballooned to $94,744 from $2,569 a year ago on 9.5 percent lower sales of $785,105. Amerityre attributed the sales drop and resultant negative effect on earnings to reduced demand for foam tires from a "significant customer," which Amerityre did not identify.
The quarterly loss is Amerityre's largest since the second quarter of 2016. The company had been in the black the previous three quarters.
For the six-month period, Amerityre was $90,427 in the red on sales of $1.61 million, a 10 percent drop.
Amerityre said it anticipates continued low farm income and depressed agricultural tire sales for the remainder of fiscal 2019.
The company said its industrial tire segment is field-testing a higher load-bearing, higher abrasion-resistance formulation for use in tires for personnel carriers, luggage carts and some lawn mowers.
"We are hopeful that raw material costs will stabilize during the rest of 2019," the company said. "The question as to whether sales volumes will recover is unknown. Despite reports of a robust economy, we are seeing evidence of an economic slowdown adversely affecting demand for our products."