Yokohama: 'Difficult to project' Russian sales in 2023 due to war

TOKYO—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has offered clarification for its Russian sales forecast, saying it is "difficult to project annual sales in Russia owing to the situation in Ukraine."

In its financial projections, issued Feb. 17, Yokohama indicated that Russia will contribute zero to its regional sales composition in 2023.

This would compare to sales contributions of 2 percent and 4 percent from Russia recorded by the group for 2022 and 2021, respectively.

In a brief statement to European Rubber Journal March 23, Yokohama said the 2023 projection column for Russia was left blank in its investor relations materials as it was hard to estimate the figure.

Last September, the Japan-based tire maker confirmed to ERJ that it had resumed its tire operations in Russia, having halted production there in March.

The temporary shutdown was "due to problems in procuring raw materials," following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Yokohama operates a passenger car tire plant in Lipetsk, Russia, which has a listed capacity to produce 1.6 million tires a year.