JINGMEN, China—Shandong Linglong Tire Co. Ltd. recorded $129 million in net profit during the first half of 2020, up 23.6 percent from a year ago, despite a slight drop in sales to $1.19 billion.
Yantai, China-based Linglong said its earnings improvement makes it the "most profitable Chinese tire maker" over the period.
In the second quarter, prices for the main raw materials such as natural rubber, carbon black and steel cord fell by 19.2 percent from a year ago. This compares with a 2.6 percent drop in the first quarter.
Linglong's tire prices remained flat during the period, the report added.
Over the half year, the company produced 28.5 million tires and sold 27.1 million, down by 1.8 percent year on year. The drop was bridged during the second quarter, when tire sales jumped 8.2 percent to 14.9 million units.
Linglong claims that its performance in the first half made it China's largest maker of passenger car tires and the second largest in truck and bus tires during the period. The company also boasts the highest production overseas for a Chinese firm.
Linglong's Thailand subsidiary registered $87 million in net profit during the first half, up 26.6 percent from a year ago. Sales fell by 1.7 percent to $320.1 million.