(By Balaseshan) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) reported break-even quarterly results that was lower than last year. Revenue fell 11% due to weaker economic conditions and unfavorable foreign currency translation.
The company posted break-even results for the fourth quarter, down from last year's earnings of $18 million or $0.07 per share.
The latest quarter results included total charges of $0.34 due to rationalizations, asset write-offs and accelerated depreciation, $0.04 due to discrete tax charges, and $0.02 resulting from a strike in South Africa.
The results also include $0.02 due to charges relating to labor claims with respect to a previously closed facility in Europe, gains of $0.02 in insurance recoveries related to flooding in Thailand, and $0.01 from asset sales.
Sales fell 11% to $5.05 billion, reflecting lower tire unit volumes, a decline in other tire related businesses sales, most notably third party chemical sales in North America, and unfavorable foreign currency translation.
Analysts, on average, polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $0.20 per share on revenue of $5.34 billion for the fourth quarter.
North American Tire sales decreased 10% to $2.3 billion, while Europe, Middle East and Africa Tire sales dropped 16% to $1.6 billion. Latin American Tire sales fell 9% to $541 million, while Asia Pacific Tire sales declined 0.5% to $588 million.
Tire unit volumes fell 7% to 40 million, primarily reflecting lower volumes in Europe.
Goodyear continues to expect long-term growth in the global tire industry but at a slower pace near term than forecast. The company expects that its full-year tire unit volume for 2013 will reflect a low single digit percentage growth rate compared to 2012.
Goodyear now expects to achieve segment operating income of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion in 2013, an increase of more than 12% over 2012. The company's current expectation is below its target for total segment operating income of $1.6 billion.
GT closed Monday's regular session at $13.91. The stock has been trading between $9.23 and $14.65 for the past 52 weeks.