AKRON — Goodyear's sales in Latin America fell 20.2 percent in the second quarter to $390 million from a year ago, as unit sales slid 4.5 percent to 4.2 million.
The Akron-based tire maker attributed the sales drop primarily to unfavorable foreign currency translation as well as weak economies in Brazil and Venezuela. Replacement tire shipments were down 2 percent. Original equipment unit volume fell 11 percent in the region.
Operating income in the region also fell — plummeting 27.1 percent to $43 million, primarily due to the impact of inflation on both raw material and conversion costs, Goodyear said, as well as lower volume, partially offset by favorable price/mix.
For the six-month period, Goodyear's Latin America sales fell 14.9 percent to $775 million, while segment operating income declined 4.9 percent to $96 million. Unit sales improved 2.4 percent to 8.6 million.
Corporate-wide, Goodyear reported $192 million in net income in the quarter, down 9.9 percent from the same period a year ago. Sales dropped 10.4 percent to $4.17 billion.
Segment operating income, meanwhile, rose 20.9 percent from a year ago to $556 million, due to what the tire maker said was a favorable price-mix net of raw materials and cost reduction actions.
For the first six months, Goodyear more than doubled its net income to $416 million, from $155 million in the 2014 period, despite a 10.2-percent drop in net sales to $8.2 billion, reflecting unfavorable foreign currency translation of $794 million, the company said.
The tire maker reported record first-half segment operating income of $947 million, a 13.7-percent increase from the year-ago period, due to favorable price/mix net of raw materials and cost reduction actions, which Goodyear said exceeded the impact of inflation and unfavorable foreign currency translation.