Titan International Inc.'s second quarter sales totaled $532.2 million, up from $481 million during the same period in 2023.
According to Titan officials, revenue gains were driven, in part, by sales contributions from Titan's Carlstar business. (Titan acquired Carlstar during the first quarter of 2024.)
These increases, however, we partially off-set by lower sales in the ag and OTR tire segments, "stemming from reduced global end customer demand."
Titan achieved operating income of $22.3 million during 2Q 2024 versus operating income of nearly $46 million posted during the same period last year.
"The change was primarly due to lower gross profit," among other factors.
Ag and OTR sales
In the ag tire segment, Titan posted net sales of $216.1 million versus $269.1 million recorded during the second quarter of 2023.
"The net sales change was primarly attributed to significantly reduced demand for agricultural equipment, most notably in North America and Brazil," say Titan officials.
Gross profit in the ag segment totaled $32.3 million in 2Q 2024 versus $48.7 million during 2Q 2023.
Titan's earthmover/construction tire sales totaled $165.6 million during the second quarter of 2024, down from $174.7 million posted during the same three months in 2023, though Titan officials note that sales volume was higher during the more recent period, driven by the "positive contribution from the Carlstar acquisition" and other factors.
Gross profit in the earthmoving/construction tire segment came to $21.3 million versus $29.1 million during 2Q 2023.
This change was driven mainly by lower sales volume in the North America region and "reduced fixed cost leverage."
Executive analysis
Commenting on the cyclicality of the industries that use Titan products, Paul Reitz, Titan's president and CEO, notes that "identifying the cyclical bottom for our industries in advance is virtually impossible to do with any precision.
"Even so, as we continue to work through the current trough, we are confident that the long-term, structural demand drivers for the industries we serve are very much intact.
"As conditions improve, which they unquestionably will, we expect to be well-positioned to drive organic revenue growth with accelerating profitability."
David Martin, Titan's chief financial officer, says the company "is in a strong financial position," which will enable it to navigate current conditons, while positioning itself "to expand sales and accelerate our profitability."
He adds that Titan's integration of Carlstar "continues to go well."
