Hankook, the premium tire maker, continues to post strong results in 2023. For the second quarter of the year, Hankook announced revenue of KRW 2,263.4 billion (~EUR 1,580.8 million) and operating profit of KRW 248.2 billion (~EUR 173.3 million), based on global consolidated financial results. Both turnover and operating profit increased respectively by 11% and 41.6% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Despite the difficult economic environment, such as slow economic growth, Hankook has managed to record noticeable growth. The premium technology and brand strategy has resulted in stable sales of electric vehicle tires and high value products leading to an increase in both sales and operating profit.
As vehicle production increased due to stable semiconductor supplies, the supply of Original Equipment (OE) tires continued to grow globally. Despite reduced demand due to high distributor inventories in key markets, sales of replacement tires exceeded market demand. In addition, profitability has improved thanks to the stabilization of raw material costs and freight rates.
Above all, sales of car tires in sizes 18 inches and above, i.e. products with particularly high added value, increased by 4.5 percentage points compared to the previous year to 43.6%. Sales of replacement and original equipment tires increased in key markets such as Europe, North America and China, laying the foundation for global growth.