From Staff & Wire Reports

Continental AG has joined Bridgestone Corp., Groupe Michelin and other tiremakers in upping their estimates of the impact growing raw material costs are having on financial results.

Continental Chief Executive Manfred Wennemer told investment bankers this week that the tiremaker now expects to incur added costs of up to $377 million compared to about $265 million in added costs in 2005.

However, unlike Bridgestone, which lowered its earnings target for 2006 by 35 percent, Wennemer reaffirmed Continental’s expectation of higher revenue and earnings for this year. Michelin had previously said high raw material costs would make it difficult to make its target growth for the year.

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