By Theodore Opara

Hankook Tire announced its global financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016 with consolidated sales of 1.295 billion Euros and an operating profit of 192.2 million Euros. The company reported total sales revenues of 5.163 billion Euros and an operating profit of 860.1 million Euros for the total fiscal year 2016.

Hankook Tirefs achievement is attributed to continuous Original Equipment, OE, supply for models of global premium automobile brands based on Hankook Tirefs global top tier technology and product quality.

An increased sales volume in the Replacement Tyre  segment, especially in the Ultra High Performance Tyre (UHPT) segment including sales of winter tyres in Europe added up to a consistent upward trend. Furthermore, Hankook Tire managed to secure balanced growth through also increasing Original Equipment sales in the Chinese market.

Especially, revenue from UHPT sales accounted for 33.5% of the total sales in the fourth quarter, marking a 0.7% increase in comparison to the same period of last year.

With regard to 2016fs total sales, the sales revenue of UHPT comes to 34.5%.With this yearfs goal of reaching global sales revenues of KRW 7.22 trillion, Hankook Tire plans to focus on expanding sales in the UHPT segment as well as in the OE segment for new premium car models in order to strengthen its brand value.