Recently, Hankook Tire released its performance report for the third quarter of 2014. According to the report, in the third quarter, Hankook's global sales reached 1.72 trillion won (about 1.672 billion U.S. dollars) and profit was 276 billion won (about 269 million U.S. dollars).
Despite the slow recovery of the global economy, Hankook Tire also achieved steady growth in the third quarter thanks to the growth in sales of ultra-high performance tires and high-end auxiliary business. Compared with the second quarter, global sales and operating profit rose by 3.3% and 9.9% respectively.
According to statistics, in the first three quarters of 2014, sales of Hantai Ultra Performance tires accounted for approximately 31% of its global sales, which represents an increase of 2.6% compared with the same period of last year.
In developed markets such as Europe and North America, the business growth of Hankook Tire was further accelerated from the previous quarter, with sales increased by 15.4% and 10.3% respectively. Hantai said that this growth was mainly due to the strengthening of its North American retail channel.
In addition, the steady growth of high-end accessory business is the main driving force for the overall sales growth of Hankook Tire. Recently, Hankook Tire has successively supplied high-end automobiles such as the all-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, the new-generation MINI, and the 2015 Lincoln Navigator, and has applied the HRS for the first time in the high-end supporting field.
The reporter was informed that Hankook Tire will continue to increase investment in R&D and production capacity, and it is expected that in 2016 it will establish a new central R&D center in Daejeon, South Korea, HANKOOK TECHNODOME and a new plant in Tennessee, USA.