News
Hankook Tire announced on February 1 that its annual sales on a global consolidated basis hit a record 7.0291 trillion won last year, up 8.3 percent from the same period a year earlier. Operating profit also jumped 57.9% to 912.9 billion won, maintaining an upward momentum even amidst global economic downturn.
According to the company’s account, despite recession triggered by the European financial crisis, the company registered a record-high performance in global markets thanks to a significant rise in sales of its ultra-high performance (UHP) tires, a high-valued added product, made possible by enhanced recognition of premium brand.
Last year, the company’s sales of UHP tires rose 30.2% from a year earlier. Its UHP tire sales in emerging markets such as The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) including Russia, and Central and South America were up 86.5%.
The company’s supply to sellers of the completely-built-up units of global premium models with high dependence on UHP tires, such as BMW, Lincoln, Audi, Volkswagen, and Chrysler, was also up 27.6%. The Korean firm’s tires supply to Audi China also grew by as much as 156%.