US tire manufacturer Goodyear has reported record sales figures over phe last 12 months, according to a statement released yesterday.
The company’s success in 2014 has allowed it to deliver a large $300 million dividend to shareholders. This huge payout amounted to a 24 cent dividend on each share, and represented a 20% increased on the previous year’s payment.
These payouts were driven by surging profits for the company, which generated an income of $2.13bn in just the final quarter of 2014. Enabling this massive income was a large one-off $2.2bn tax benefit which the company received over this period.
Goodyear believes that these latest windfalls for the company and its shareholders are consistent with their strategy for long-term growth.
“I am extremely pleased with what our teams accomplished over the past year through their disciplined execution of our strategy,” chairman and CEO Richard J Kramer said at an annual shareholder meeting yesterday.
“Our strategy is built to create sustainable value in the marketplace – where tires are bought and sold and where our brand can be differentiated from the competition.”
The company, which now has over 56,000 employees across the globe, is looking to expand into new markets for future growth.
Just last month it opened its first Tire Development Center in China, aimed at producing high-value-added products for the Chinese automobile market.
“China is the world’s largest and fastest-growing market for passenger cars and commercial trucks, and critical to Goodyear’s growth strategy,” explained Kramer.
Auto industry rebound
Goodyear’s recent gains have also been buoyed by a rebound in the automobile market, especially in the US.
According to reporting by Bloomberg Business, US automobile sales have seen year-on-year growth since the economic downturn in 2008 and the subsequent bailouts of the automobile sector.
Unlike other companies, Goodyear’s tire business will likely be unaffected by potential disruptive shifts in the auto industry in the coming years, caused by new electric cars, and increasingly autonomous systems.
