June 2 (SeeNews) - Slovenia’s Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires saw its sales drop in the first months of 2020, as demand fell due to the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Tuesday.
"The measures introduced in Slovenia and the remaining countries on the European continent, which are extremely important export markets for us, have resulted in reduced tire sales, as consumers mostly stayed at home; and because of the lower mileage covered, a change of tires was not considered to be a necessary expenditure," director general Matej Zavrl said in a statement.
To adapt to lower demand, the company suspended production at its facilities in the city of Kranj from March 21 until April 14.
The company also said that its net profit rose 22% to 8 million euro ($9 million) last year, as a result of deferred tax payments. Its operating profit fell 18% to 5.66 million euro last year, due to higher costs of raw materials.
Net sales revenue was up 2.6% to 226 million euro in 2019, thanks to higher sales on the markets in the Adria region (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo), higher sale prices and improved structure of its sales programme.
The company sold 2.55 million tires in the Adria region last year, up 6.8% on 2018, while net sales revenue on these markets rose 3.2% to 123.7 million euro.
($=0.893360 euro)