QUINCY, Ill.— Titan International Inc. swung back into the black on an operating and net basis in the quarter ended Sept. 30 as sales increased 3.7 percent to $384.7 million.
Titan generated third-quarter operating income of $4.82 million after reporting a $4.67 million loss in the year-ago period, and reported net income of $2.29 million, compared with a $12 million loss in the year-ago quarter.
Titan attributed the return to profitability to production efficiency gains associated with the increased sales volume. The gain partially was offset by higher raw materials costs.
Titan President and CEO Paul Reitz noted that this is the first time since 2013 that Titan has reported a profitable adjusted earnings per share in the third quarter.
The net sales increase was driven by gains in the earthmoving/construction segment in most geographies, the company said, and partially was offset by decreased net sales in the agricultural and consumer segments.
Titan's earthmover/construction segment was the only segment to increase sales during the quarter, reporting a 15.3-percent increase in sales to $180.4 million.
Agricultural tire/wheel sales slid 4.4 percent to $163.4 million while consumer tire/wheel sales fell 6.1 percent to $41 million, Titan said.
Overall net sales volume climbed 5.9 percent over the comparable prior year quarter. Favorable changes in price/mix positively impacted net sales by 3.9 percent, while unfavorable currency translation — primarily in Latin America — impacted net sales negatively by 6.1 percent, Titan said.
"The benefits driven from our continuous operational improvement efforts and the fruits derived from our strategic investments over the past few years continue to show up positively in our financial results," Mr. Reitz said.
"Our earthmoving/construction segment, in particular the ITM undercarriage business, has performed exceptionally. Year-to-date sales for this segment are up over 28 percent with that growth also translating well into meaningful margin and EBITDA improvement for Titan."