Toyo Tire Corp. suffered a 9.3% drop in fiscal 2019 operating income on 4% lower sales, a result the company attributed primarily to higher manufacturing costs and foreign-exchange rate changes.
Operating profits fell 9.3% to $353.7 million on sales of $3.47 billion, dropping the operating ratio slightly to 10.2%. Net income more than doubled from 2018 to $225.2 million
For the current fiscal year, Toyo is forecasting a rebound in both sales and earnings — operating income up 14.4% on 2.3% higher sales. The tire division fared a bit worse — operating income fell 11.7% to $380.8 million on 2.6% lower sales of $3.06 billion. Tire production fell during the year as well, both in terms of units and tonnage, Toyo reported, without elaborating on the reasons for the declines. By geographical region, North America outperformed other areas, reporting earnings and sales only slightly marginally below the fiscal 2018 results. Operating income slipped 0.1% to $77 million on 0.2% lower sales of $1.82 billion.
Tire production in North America slipped 1.8% in 2019, Toyo's figures show, but should rebound in 2020, ending the year 9.4% up on 2019.
The North American performance contrasted with 6.9% and 9.5% sales drops by Toyo operations in Japan and other overseas markets, respectively.
