On the Call: Goodyear CEO upbeat on Europe in 2012
AKRON, Ohio—Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. returned to a profit in its fourth quarter, helped by a 12 percent quarterly sales increase worldwide and record full-year operating income in its Europe-Middle East-Africa region.
Sales rose 11 percent in the region to a fourth-quarter record of $1.9 billion.
The results prompted an analyst to ask Chairman and CEO Richard Kramer whether Goodyear could withstand the challenging and uncertain economy in Europe in 2012, during a conference call to discuss the results on Tuesday.
Q: Are there positives, or does it look like 2012 is going to be a tough year for Europe, compared to a great year that you had in 2011?
A (CEO Kramer): I would tell you that the core business in Europe is still very strong. In addition to that, while certainly there is an economic overhang over Europe in general, there are still good growth businesses in Eastern Europe that continue to drive our profitability there, as well. So clearly headwinds, but a strong foundation and still a lot of growth areas and a lot of opportunities.
