[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Hankook Tire & Technology announced on the 3rd that it achieved consolidated sales of 1.6168 trillion KRW and operating profit of 186 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. This represents a 12.6% increase in sales and a 75.5% increase in operating profit compared to the same period last year.
Hankook Tire explained that the sales proportion of high-inch tires for passenger cars of 18 inches or larger was about 38%, an increase of 4 percentage points compared to last year, leading qualitative growth.
From the second half of the year, when the economic impact of COVID-19 partially eased, replacement tire sales increased in major regions such as Europe, North America, and China. In particular, the Chinese market saw an increase in replacement tire sales compared to the same period last year, and new car tire sales also rose sharply due to the recovery of demand for finished vehicles. Among these, the sales proportion of high-inch tires rose to 40%, up 13 percentage points compared to the first quarter of last year, showing qualitative growth.
Hankook Tire continues to strengthen its premium brand status by supplying new car tires to premium finished car manufacturers in 2021 as well. Recently, it has been supplying the ultra-high-performance tire 'Ventus S1 evo3' to Porsche's high-performance sports roadster '718 Boxster.'
Additionally, following the supply of Porsche's first pure electric vehicle 'Taycan' last year, Hankook Tire is further strengthening partnerships with electric vehicle brands by supplying new car tires for the core models 'ES6' and 'EC6' of Chinese electric vehicle company Nio.
This year, Hankook Tire plans to enhance its premium brand value by continuously strengthening high-inch tire sales in major markets, expanding premium new car tire (OE) partnerships, and increasing the proportion of OE supply for electric vehicles. Furthermore, through optimal distribution strategies tailored to each region based on quality competitiveness, the company aims to achieve both quantitative and qualitative growth by continuing the steady growth of replacement tire sales.
On the other hand, Korean factories such as the Daejeon and Geumsan plants saw sales decline by about 5% compared to the same period last year due to rising raw material prices, increased maritime freight costs, and agreements on compensation for ordinary wages, resulting in a turnaround to operating losses. Hankook Tire stated, "Recovering sales and profitability of Korean factories is an important task going forward."
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