WAYNE, N.J. – Hankook Tire has announced its fiscal year 2010 performance results with global sales of KRW 5.4 trillion (approximately $4.8 billion USD) and an operating profit of KRW 585.8 billion ($523 million) in tire sales, breaking the company’s previous annual sales record.
Fulfilling the global sales target it set in the beginning of 2010 to exceed KRW 5.1 trillion, Hankook Tire says it marked 5.4 trillion ($4.5 billion), recording an 11.5 percent year over year increase. The company’s 2010 operating profit increased by 6.7 percent year over year, despite the continuous rise in raw material prices.
“In 2010, our company has had another successful, record-breaking year in North America as well as globally,” said So Il Lee, president of Hankook Tire America Corp. “Hankook Tire North America, USA and Canada combined, recorded sales of 12.6 million tires, totaling $1 billion with a growth rate of 21 percent.”
The company said key drivers for this growth were surging sales in the emerging markets, steady growth in Hankook’s strategic markets in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific and the increasing demand for Hankook Tire’s Ultra High Performance (UHP) tires. The overall global sales of UHP tires marked a 42.2 percent year over year increase.
Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO, said, “2010 was the cornerstone of a new era for Hankook Tire, as we achieved record performance and set new plans for further growth, including the expansion of Hankook’s production capacity with new plants in Indonesia and China. In 2011, as we celebrate our 70th anniversary, Hankook’s priorities are to build a sustainable and creative corporate culture as well as to further initiate environment-friendly approaches as a leading global tire company.”
In 2011, Hankook Tire aims to achieve global sales of KRW 6.06 trillion ($5.4 billion), a target upgrade that the company says reflects the boosted production capacity of its Hungarian plant. In addition, Hankook announced that starting this year, it will be the exclusive tire supplier to DTM international touring car racing series.
