Apollo Tyres has announced that it has crossed the Rs 1,000 crore net profit mark for 2013-14. As per the  company’s audited financial results for the fourth quarter (January to March 2013) and fiscal year 2013-14, the tyremaker’s consolidated annual revenues, across operations in Asia, Africa and Europe, increased 4 percent to reach Rs 13,310 crore). On a consolidated level, the break-up of revenues across the operating entities are: Asia Pacific, Middle East & North Africa (APMENA) – 62 percent; and, Europe, Sub Saharan Africa and Americas (ESSAA) – 38 percent.

Net profit rose 64 percent to reach Rs 1,000 crore. Meanwhile, net sales for Q4 grew 6 percent to close at Rs 3,212 crore).

Commenting on the results, Onkar S Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said, “Last year, we saw the consolidation of our two brands – Apollo and Vredestein – and their entry into newer markets. All this, along with better product and customer mix across geographies has helped us report incremental revenues. Recovery in the commercial vehicle segment in India in the new fiscal, after witnessing negative growth in the past year, will have a positive impact going forward. Car sales in Europe have also risen continuously for the last three quarters, which is again a positive for us.”
Onkar S Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd, added, “We are aggressively pursuing organic growth opportunities. Considering the increased demand for our tyres in Europe, along with capacity constraints in our existing facility in Enschede, the Netherlands, has made us prioritise our investment into a greenfield facility in the region. The Board has given us approval to initiate plant building activities in Eastern Europe, at a project cost of Euro 500 million (Rs 4,075 crore) over the next four years, funded with accruals and debt at our European subsidiary.”

The past fiscal saw Apollo Tyres make Thailand its hub for the ASEAN region, enter new markets like Malaysia, Qatar and Jordan and also introduce the Vredestein brand of premium, high-quality tyres in India, among other initiatives. In March this year, the company had the global launch of the Apterra H/P, an on-road high-performance summer tyre for SUVs at the Geneva Motor Show. The new tyre has been developed by Apollo Tyres’ Global PV R&D Centre in the Netherlands.

The past fiscal, which saw the Chennai manufacturing plant receive the FICCI Quality Systems award, also saw Apollo Tyres’s unsuccessful attempt to take over Cooper Tire & Rubber Company of the USA, which would have made it the seventh-largest tyre company in the world with a strong presence in high-growth end-markets across four continents.

Photograph: Onkar S Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres.