Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. achieved slightly more than $6.4 billion in revenue during 2024, a 5.3% year-over-year increase.
The Seoul, South Korea-based company also posted an operating profit of around $1.21 billion for the year, up 32.7% over full-year 2023 levels.
Globally, Hankook’s percentage of 18-inch and above passenger and replacement tires sold during 2024 rose to 46.5%, up 2.3% year-over-year.
Hankook officials credit the company’s record-high profitability to an “enhanced product mix, increased seasonal tire sales” and other factors, including “stabilized raw material and shipping costs.”
During the fourth quarter of 2024, Hankook posted sales of $1.74 billion, up 13.4% from the same period in 2023. The company posted full-year operating profit of around $325 million, down 3.9% from 4Q 2024 levels.
A global look
The global OE passenger and light truck tire market “contracted” during the fourth quarter of 2024, with the exception of China, where growth was driven by “subsidies for new energy vehicles,” according to Hankook officials.
However, the replacement passenger and light truck tire market grew on a global basis, “with robust winter tire demand in Europe.”
North America focus
In North America, high-diameter passenger and light truck tires comprised 55.8% of Hankook’s sales during the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase from 52.8% during the same period in 2023.
However, the company's overall replacement consumer tire revenue in North America declined on a year-over-year basis “due to intensified market competition and temporary sales adjustments driven by efforts to strengthen and optimize” Hankook’s distribution network.
Hankook officials report that competition within the North America replacement tire channel was driven “by the inflow of cost-competitive import products and partial impact of financially challenged wholesalers.”
OE sales revenue also decreased during the fourth quarter of 2024 in North America due to what Hankook officials call “lower OE supplement.”
2025 outlook
“In 2025, we are committed to achieving both quantitative and qualitative growth by expanding our portfolio of high-inch and EV products” worldwide, according to Hankook officials.
“Also leveraging stable operating margins and cash generation capabilities, we plan to conduct our capacity expansions as planned to secure sustainable growth.”
A Hankook spokesperson recently told MTD that the company’s North American division, Hankook Tire America Corp., is halfway through expansion at its consumer tire plant in Clarksville, Tenn.
Hankook is investing $1.6 billion in the plant to double its passenger and light truck tire production, while also adding TBR tire production at the facility.
Globally, Hankook predicts that its revenue growth during 2025 will “exceed market demand” and expects to achieve a double-digit operating margin increase in the 10% range, despite “global uncertainties.”
The company also wants to sell more high-diameter passenger and light truck tires during 2025.
Looking ahead, Hankook plans to bolster the sales of its Dynapro light truck tire line in North America to meet the ever-growing demand for pickup trucks and SUVs.
Hankook recently added a pair of products – the Dynapro evo AS and the next-generation Dynapro HT2 – to the expanding Dynapro line. At the same time, the company also rolled out a new Ventus tire, the Ventus evo, an ultra-high performance summer tire, for the North American market.
