Cooper Tire & Rubber's quarterly sales rose 8.6%

Cooper Tire & Rubber has released financial results for the third quarter of 2020. Strong demand in North America and Asia allowed the company to increase its quarterly sales by 8.6% year-over-year.

"After the first half of the year, which was significantly impacted by the global pandemic, the third quarter results confirm the effectiveness of our strategic initiatives and Cooper's ability to seize market opportunities," said Bradley Hughes, President and CEO of Cooper.

Cooper's operating income more than tripled over the period to $171.5 million, while global sales reached $764.9 million. This also includes an additional one-off $49 million received by the company from the cost savings associated with adjusting provisions.

The tire manufacturer's net profit quadrupled to $123.3 million.

“Strong results in our third quarter and temporary plant closures due to the pandemic at the beginning of the year resulted in a reduction in Cooper's inventory, which in the fourth quarter will impact our ability to meet global demand,” said Brad Hughes. “This will lead to a slight decrease in global sales during second half of 2020 compared to second half of 2019 ".

The company expects Cooper's operating profit margin in the second half of 2020 to be 10-14%.

The third quarter was strong enough to offset the dip in the first half, so operating income for the nine-month period rose 54% to $171.5 million.

Sales for the first three quarters, however, are still 10.5% behind last year at $1.79 billion 1. Net income, which reached $106.1 million, is more than double the results for 2019.

In its American home market, Cooper's sales rose 9.6% to $ 659.5 million. At the same time, the supply of passenger tires to the US market increased by 9%, which contrasts sharply with the overall decline in supplies for the industry by 1.2%, announced by the US Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA).

Cooper's operating income in the region was $175.7 million, well above last year's figures.

The tire maker's international operating income was $8.77 million on sales of $142.1 million for the quarter. In the first three quarters of 2020, Cooper's global sales declined 16.7% to $345.5 million.