QUINCY, Ill. (July 24, 2001) — Titan International Inc. reported a net loss of $4 million in the second quarter and $3.8 million for the first half. This compares with second-quarter net income of $18.9 million and $19.9 million for last year´s first half.
The Quincy-based tire maker said second-quarter net sales fell 17.3 percent to $120.4 million from $145.6 million a year ago. Six-month net sales declined by a like amount to $256.4 million from $309.9 million in 2000.
Titan´s second-quarter results last year included a $38.7 million pre-tax gain resulting from the company´s sale of manufacturing facilities in Clinton, Tenn., and Slinger, Wis. Pro forma net sales for the quarter and six months would have been $138.8 million and $279.3 million respectively, if adjusted for the sale of those assets. The pro forma net loss would have been
$4.8 million for the second quarter of 2000 and $5.8 million for the six months.
Titan President and CEO Maurice Taylor Jr. said the company reduced its long-term debt by more than $30 million and ended the quarter with a cash balance of over $20 million despite what he called difficult economic conditions.
"This is a commendable achievement," he said, "in light of Titan´s earnings being affected by a reduced level of operational activity at the company´s facilities. Increased efficiency has led Titan to alter operating schedules as a means of controlling inventory and reducing costs."
Mr. Taylor said trading conditions also were adversely impacted by the high cost of the U.S. dollar.
"One-fourth of Titan´s business is generated overseas, and the strength of the dollar has hurt both sales and profit in dollar terms, although the entire European operation is showing improvement year over year in local currency," Mr. Taylor said.
He said the company believes conditions in the agricultural tire market will improve during the fourth quarter, whereas customer demand in the construction tire market will remain flat throughout the rest of this year. "We expect nearly all business segments in which Titan participates to improve in 2002" he added.