Cooper Tire has recorded first quarter net income of US$59m, up from US$41m last year.
Unit volume increased 1.9% year-over-year, while net sales decreased 2% to US$650m. Operating profit rose by 29.5% year-over-year to US$91m or 14% of net sales.
“Cooper is off to a strong start in 2016,” said chairman, CEO and president, Roy Armes. “Our first quarter operating margin performance was excellent and continued the positive results we delivered in 2015.
“The Americas segment posted another outstanding quarter, with operating margin of over 18%. Unit volumes grew nearly 2% year-over-year, with strong growth in the international segment, which was partially offset by a slight decrease in the Americas segment.
“We continue to execute against our strategic plan, investing in operations around the globe to improve our competitive position and accelerating the development of new products. In North America, new products—those launched in the last two years—represent approximately 30% of sales.
“Of course, our overarching goal is to deliver shareholder value and we continued to return cash to shareholders through our ongoing quarterly dividend and nearly US$25m in share repurchases in the first quarter.”
