Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. recorded consolidated sales of 1.67 trillion won for its first quarter ending March 31, 2014. That compares to sales of 1.68 trillion won for the same period last year.
Based on the exchange rate, sales in the first quarter totaled $1.5 billion, according to the company.
Operating income totaled 260.1 billion won, down 0.7% from a year earlier. The company did not release net income.
Although global sales fell 0.3%, the company says sales were brisk in the UHP segment across the global market.
Quarterly global sales in UHP tires have shown a 7.6% increase year-over-year, which accounted for approximately 29.1% of the company's consolidated quarterly sales.
Hankook says the global sales increase in the UHP segment enhanced its brand equity as a premium tire company. By market, UHP tire sales were:
* up 18.2% in China;
* up 14.4% in the Middle East and other Asia-Pacific regions;
*up 4.4% in Europe; and
* up 3.6% in North America.
"Despite challenges arising from changing business environment, our widely recognized tire technology with advanced R&D capability has firmly solidified the foundation for growth, enabling robust financial results for the first quarter in 2014," says Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO.
