HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G.'s tire operations generated 68 percent higher pre-tax operating income for the year ended Dec. 31 year on 16.2 percent higher sales, prompting management to forecast double-digit sales and earnings growth for 2022.
Conti reported operating income of $2 billion last year on sales of $14 billion, which yields an operating ratio improvement of four points to 14.4 percent.
For 2022, Conti management is projecting sales of between $14.8 billion and $15.3 billion with an adjusted EBIT margin of 13.5-14.5 percent
Conti cited increased replacement demand for passenger and commercial-vehicle tires for the revenue increase, with sales of larger-diameter (18 inches and above) passenger tires outpacing overall demand growth to the point that such tires now account for 44 percent of passenger/light truck tire sales, up from 38 percent in 2020 and 35 percent in 2019.
On a corporate basis, Conti's adjusted operating profit jumped 37.7 percent to $2.2 billion, or 5.6 percent of the sales, which were up 6 percent to $39.1 billion.
