In the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company‘s fourth-quarter statement, the company reported its fourth-quarter 2019 net loss was $392 million ($1.68 per share) compared to net income of $110 million ($0.47 per share) a year ago.

Goodyear says the decrease was driven by discrete tax adjustments of $380 million during the fourth quarter of 2019, including a non-cash charge of $334 million related to an acceleration of royalty income in the U.S. from the sale of the next twelve years of European royalty payments to Luxembourg business and rationalization charges of $77 million.

Tyre unit volumes totaled 39.6 million, down 2% from 2018. Original equipment unit volume decreased 10%, driven by lower global vehicle production. Replacement tyre shipments increased slightly, according to Goodyear’s financial reports.

“In the U.S., market conditions remained largely stable and our consumer and commercial replacement businesses delivered strong performances this year, as they benefited from the strength of our brand, new product introductions, and the steps we have taken to align our distribution,” said Richard J. Kramer, chairman, chief executive officer and president. “We also delivered solid consumer replacement growth in both China and Brazil during the second half of the year,” he added.

“We continue to face a challenging global environment, including recessionary demand trends in many international markets. To address these challenges, we remain focused on further improving our cost structure and working capital management, while continuing to build our capabilities to enable mobility, today and in the future,” said Kramer.

Goodyear’s fourth quarter 2019 sales were $3.7 billion, down 4% from a year ago, which the company says is driven primarily by lower industry volume and unfavorable foreign currency translation, partially offset by improved price/mix. 

(tirereview.com)