AKRON-Heavy price discounting left some companies with decreased net earnings, while others fared better during the year's third-quarter and first nine months, ended Sept. 30. TBC Corp. posted higher third-quarter and nine-month sales, due in part to the company's purchase of Big O Tires, July 10. But that improvement wasn't sufficient to prevent a decrease in the company's net earnings for the year to date.
Net sales for the three months, ended Sept. 30, totaled $177.3 million, up 17.9 percent from those of the year-earlier period. Net income for the Memphis, Tenn.-based company was $4.73 million, a 20.5-percent increase from the 1995 quarter.
For the first nine months, net sales rose 4.9 percent to $438.9 million from the previous year.
Net income declined 7.4 percent to $11.3 million. TBC President and CEO Louis DePasqua attributed this falloff to the market's ``especially competitive'' pricing conditions.
Third-quarter and nine-month sales were down for Treadco Inc., North America's largest independent retreader.
For the period, ended Sept. 30, the Fort Smith, Ark.-based company reported an operating loss of $645,000 on sales of $40.1 million, down 1.5 percent from the same period a year ago.
During the quarter, Treadco posted a $1.1 million gain on the sale of assets related to its now-completed conversion from Bandag's precure retreading process to that of Oliver Rubber Co., resulting in net income of $150,0000 for the quarter.
Sales from retreading fell 10.3 percent to $19.2 million during the quarter, while sales of new tires during the period rose 9.2 percent to $20.9 million.
For the nine months, Treadco posted a net loss of $1.93 million on sales of $108 million, down 3.7 percent from 1995. Sales from retreading were $54.7 million, a decrease of 9.3 percent from 1995.
Titan Tire Corp.'s parent, Titan Wheel International Inc., reported its 19th consecutive quarter of record earnings compared with the year-earlier period.
Net income for the Quincy, Ill.-based company for the three months rose 3.5 percent to $9.22 million, compared with the year-ago period, despite a 2.6-percent decline in sales to $145.7 million.
Nine-month sales rose 5.4 percent from those last year, to $490 million, while net income climbed 8.7 percent to $30.7 million.
Sales and earnings at Brad Ragan Inc. fell during the third quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30.
For the quarter, net income for the Charlotte, N.C.-based company plunged 94.1 percent to $47,000 from $801,000 a year ago. Sales slipped less than 1 percent to $66.9 million.
For the nine months, Brad Ragan lost $2.35 million, compared with a $2.2-million profit in the year-ago period, as sales again slipped less than 1 percent to $188 million.
Akron-based Myers Industries, parent corporation of Myers Tire Supply, reported higher sales and earnings for the third quarter and nine months.
Net income grew 11.8 percent to $3.71 million on sales of $77.9 million, an increase of 4.3 percent compared with the same period last year.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income climbed 27 percent to $14.5 million, as sales rose 5.8 percent to $230.4 million.