Continental Sees 2-4% Rise in CV Replacement Tire Sales
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Continental AG expects North American commercial vehicle replacement tire sales to rise between 2% and 4% year-over-year in 2024, the German tire manufacturer said.
North American commercial vehicle replacement tire sales fell 15% year-over-year in 2023, it said when releasing fourth-quarter and full-year earnings March 7.
That was better than expectations three months earlier, however, when Continental expected a full-year decrease in sales of between 17% and 19%.
The company expects North American commercial vehicle production to fall by 4% to 6% year-over-year in 2024 after an 8% rise in 2023.
Continental said the company’s tires group delivered “stable profitability” in 2023 despite weak tire-replacement markets in Europe and North America. The unit reported revenue of $15.25 billion in 2023, a 0.3% decrease compared with $15.31 billion in 2022. Continental reports earnings in euros and the reported exchange rates were correct as of March 11.
The tire unit posted an adjusted earnings before interest and taxation margin of 13.5% in 2023, compared with 13.1% in 2022, the parent company said.
That margin improvement was mainly due to a strong share of the premium tire market and strong end-of-year business in Europe, it said.
Revenues at the segment in the final three months reflected that position, with the tire unit posting sales of $3.941 billion, down 2.6% compared with $4.046 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Continental did not provide a global forecast for commercial vehicle tire sales, but said worldwide tire replacement sales in 2024 across both passenger cars and light vehicles were expected to be flat to 3% higher.
The company did not publish any figures on profits at the tire unit for Q4 or the full-year period. Representatives were not immediately available to provide details.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing below or go here for more info:
