Nexen's '13 income dips on higher sales

SEOUL, South Korea—Nexen Tire Corp. suffered slight dips in operating and net income last year on 4.3-percent higher sales. For the year, operating income slipped 1.9 percent to $162 million while net earnings were off 7.7 percent to $113.7 million, Nexen reported. Sales rose to $1.58 billion. The full-year figures were dragged down by drops in sales and earnings in the fourth quarter: operating income was off 19.7 percent and sales were down 7.5 percent. Nexen's Chinese and Korean operations both reported double-digit gains in operating profits, but the Korean business unit suffered a slight drop in sales while sales by the Chinese unit were up 14.5 percent. The company did not provide commentary to go with the numbers, released on the investor relations section of the firm's website. However Nexen did disclose that the $300 million second-stage expansion of its Chang-Nyeong, South Korea, factory is under way, with production set to start this June. Once completed, annual capacity at the 2-year-old plant in southeast Korea will nearly double to 11 million units.