Hankook Tire Q1 Sales Reach 2.104 Trillion KRW, Up 17.5% YoY

Operating Profit of 190.9 Billion KRW, Up 51.5% Year-on-Year

Hankook Tire & Technology announced global consolidated operating results for the first quarter of 2023, reporting sales of 2.104 trillion KRW and operating profit of 190.9 billion KRW. Compared to the same period last year, sales and operating profit increased by 17.5% and 51.5%, respectively.

The company explained that despite adverse conditions such as economic recession and intensified competition, growth was achieved based on expanding the proportion of high value-added products and strengthening sales of tires dedicated to electric vehicles. The stabilization of semiconductor supply led to an increase in vehicle production, resulting in higher supply of tires for new cars, and replacement tire sales also rose in Europe and other regions, contributing to favorable performance.

The proportion of electric vehicle tires in new car tire supply increased from 5% in 2021 to 11% last year. This year, the target is raised to about 20%. In the first quarter, tires were supplied for the Chinese electric vehicle startup Leapmotor’s electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) C11, Volkswagen ID.Buzz, and Toyota’s first pure electric SUV bz4X.

The sales proportion of passenger car tires sized 18 inches or larger, which have high added value, also recorded about 43.5%, an increase of 4.5% compared to the same period last year. Balanced growth was observed across all global regions.

However, the Korean plants (Daejeon and Geumsan plants) are facing difficulties in recovering profitability. The Korean plants have been recording losses since 2021. In the first quarter, operating profit shortfall of more than 15 billion KRW occurred. The company explained that the fire at the Daejeon plant in March will further exacerbate difficulties starting from the second quarter.