Bridgestone posts 64% jump in profit

BRIDGESTONE, the world's largest tire and rubber products maker by sales, reported a 64 percent jump in profit yesterday for the first nine months of this year on the back of brisk sales of tires.

Profit at Bridgestone Corp climbed to 82.34 billion yen (US$714.1 million) for the nine months through September from 50.06 billion yen the same period the previous year.

Sales soared 14 percent to 2.467 trillion yen during the period from 2.163 trillion yen a year earlier. Bridgestone did not break down quarterly numbers.

By tire sales volume, Bridgestone is competing against Michelin SA of France for the world's top spot, but it surpasses Michelin in global revenue.

Bridgestone's profit in tires was robust, despite the rising cost of oil and other raw materials, as the company introduced new products and invested in overseas production, it said in a statement.

The Tokyo-based company also manufactures other industrial rubber and chemical products, but tires are its biggest business, accounting for 80 percent of sales.

Tire sales were flat in Japan, where the auto market has been stagnant, but they were up in North America, Europe and other regions, it said.

Bridgestone kept steady its outlook for the fiscal year ending March 2008 at 109.0 billion yen, compared with 85.1 billion yen last year. Its sales projection also stood unchanged at 3.37 trillion yen.