Nokian increased its revenue

Finnish Nokian Tyres has summed up the results of the first half of 2024, according to which the net sales of the tire manufacturer amounted to EUR 561.2 million, an increase of 5.66% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the operating loss increased from EUR 9.4 to EUR 17.8 million, and the company says that the results of the first half of the year were negatively affected by the crisis in the Red Sea and strikes in Finland, which led to production stops, delivery delays, and an increase in logistics costs.

In the second quarter, sales were EUR 324.6 million (EUR 203.1 million a year earlier), and operating profit was EUR 8.4 million (EUR 9.5 million in the same period of 2023).

According to Jukka Moisio, President and CEO of Nokian, in the second quarter, revenue was increased primarily due to good performance in the Central European market. "Revenue growth in the passenger tire segment continued due to improved product availability and increased sales volumes in physical terms," he noted. "The Vianor network is also showing stable performance, but weak demand in the original equipment segment continued to negatively impact Nokian Heavy Tyres' net sales [produces tires for trucks and special equipment]. At the same time, operating profit increased due to increased sales and reduced raw material costs."

The head of Nokian also said that due to strikes in Finland, caused by protests against labor law reform, the company had to stop production of passenger tires for a total of three weeks in February-April, and the Nokian Heavy Tyres plant for one week. Due to the strikes, as well as the situation in the Red Sea, where Houthis attacked cargo ships, EBITDA profit was reduced by EUR 20 million.

"We continue to build a new Nokian Tyres, and in early July, the first tire was produced at the plant in Romania, exactly on schedule and according to our plans. This is an important achievement for the entire Nokian Tyres team," Moisio added. "In the USA, we opened a finished goods warehouse near our plant [in Dayton, Tennessee], completing the investment phase in the country. This year, we are also celebrating the 90th anniversary of our innovative development - the winter tire, and we continue to actively work on the release of new products to the market."

In 2024, Nokian also presented an eco-friendly concept tire made using lignin, and Moisio emphasized that this is another step towards achieving the goal of increasing the share of "green" materials in tire production to 50% by 2030.

Nokian forecasts that in 2024, demand from distributors will grow, and according to Moisio, "thanks to growing capacity and a competitive range, we are ready to take advantage of this opportunity," and in the future, the company will continue to implement a strategy aimed at increasing turnover to EUR 2 billion per year.