Finnish tyremaker’s third-quarter operating profit surges 427 percent to 21.8 million euros. Romanian factory ramp-up progressing as planned, now operating 24/7. Heavy investment phase nearing its end as the company targets a cash flow turnaround.

Finnish tiremaker Nokian Tyres reported a more than fivefold increase in third-quarter operating profit, as aggressive pricing increases in passenger car tyres and improved manufacturing efficiency offset challenging market conditions and years of operational upheaval.

The company, known for its winter tyres, said operating profit jumped 427 per cent to 21.8 million euros ($23.7 million) in the July-September period from 4.1 million euros a year earlier, when results were dragged down by 13.3 million euros in inventory write-downs related to contract-manufactured products.

Net sales grew 10.8 percent to 344.1 million euros at constant exchange rates, with the company achieving growth across all regions despite what it characterised as stable replacement tyre markets in Europe and declining conditions in North America.

“I have to say that I’m very pleased to tell you that we are really moving in the right direction,” President and Chief Executive Paolo Pompei told analysts on a conference call. “Our operating profit increased significantly. Obviously, this is very encouraging for the future journey that we have ahead.”

Pricing Strategy Delivers Results

The improvement was driven primarily by price increases implemented from late in the first quarter onward to offset rising raw material costs and to reposition products in Central Europe and North America, Pompei said.

In the passenger car tyre segment, which accounts for the bulk of Nokian’s business, net sales rose 13.2 percent to 234 million euros, whilst segment operating profit climbed to 38.9 million euros from 34.4 million euros. The segment’s operating margin rose to 16.6 percent, up from 16.4 percent a year earlier.

Interim Chief Financial Officer Jari Huuhtanen said price and mix effects contributed a positive 35 million euros to operating profit in the passenger car tyre segment in the quarter. However, this was partially offset by 25 million euros in supply chain costs, related mainly to non-recurring items from the previous year.

“Our average sales price with comparable currencies improved, and the sales of higher than 18-inch tyres increased significantly,” Huuhtanen said. “Segment operating profit improved due to price increases and a favourable product mix.”

Pompei acknowledged that volume declined 3.3 percent in the quarter but said this was “well justified by the comparability with the previous year, due to the action we made in order to release the slow-moving stock that we have accumulated due to the crisis in the Red Sea channel.”

Asked about the sustainability of price increases, given that larger competitors have recently lowered their price-mix assumptions, Pompei said: “We cannot keep increasing pricing. It was extremely important for us, again, to compensate for the increase in rising raw material costs and, at the same time, to gradually reposition in Central Europe and in North America.”

He added that the company was “not expecting the price increase to affect volume at this stage” beyond the comparison effects from last year’s inventory clearance.

Romanian Factory Hits Milestone

The company’s new factory in Oradea, Romania - described as the world’s first full-scale zero-CO2-emissions tyre factory - is progressing according to plan and is now operating four shifts to enable round-the-clock production.

Nokian said it would deliver approximately one million tyres from the Romanian plant this year, up from zero in 2024. The factory began customer deliveries in the second quarter.

“One million is the production, but the capacity already by the end of the year will be up to three million pieces and up to the end of next year, up to six million pieces,” Pompei explained. “We need to distinguish between production and capacity.”

He said the remaining capacity expansion would focus on mixing and semi-finished product lines rather than curing and building machinery, meaning capital expenditure requirements would be “really limited” for the next three years.

The Romanian facility has launched two new product lines for Central and Southern European markets, most recently the Powerproof 2, a premium ultra-high-performance summer tyre unveiled at an event in Spain attended by 160 guests from across the region.

Pompei said that in future, “more than 80 percent of what we sell in the European market will be supported by our Romanian factories for Central Europe as well as South Europe.”

North America Shines, Heavy Tyres Struggle

North America emerged as a standout performer, with sales surging 27 percent despite a declining market, driven by favourable tariff developments.

“We are finally doing extremely well in North America, and we are very pleased with the journey that we have done so far,” Pompei said.

Canada removed 25 percent counter-tariffs on U.S.-produced tyres on 1 August, whilst the United States reduced tariffs on EU tyre imports from 25 percent to 15 percent on 1 September. Nokian produces approximately 85 per cent of its U.S. volume at its Dayton, Tennessee, facility.

“Obviously, today we are in the ideal situation to deliver tyres from the US to Canada without duties,” Pompei said.

The company also disclosed a new partnership with American Tire Distributors (ATD), the largest national distributor in the United States. However, Pompei noted exposure was “relatively low” as the relationship was beginning.

However, the heavy tyres division struggled, with net sales falling 4.4 per cent to 55.4 million euros at constant exchange rates, as weakness in truck and agricultural tyre markets persisted. Segment operating profit dropped to 5 million euros from 7.5 million euros, impacted by lower volumes and inventory revaluation effects.

Asked when the agricultural market might recover, Pompei said: “I believe the agri business in particular is subject to cycles, and cycles can be long or short, but in general, obviously, we are now landing at the end of the second, I would say almost the second year of a downturn.”

He added: “I’m expecting the agri business at the level in particular to recover pretty soon in the next six to 12 months.”

Winter Season Outlook, Efficiency Drive

Looking ahead to the crucial winter tyre selling season, Pompei said the weather in September had been “a little bit too warm” but conditions were improving.

“Now it is getting colder, both in the Nordics as well as in North America,” he said. “We are expecting the winter tyre season to basically start, as I speak in this moment in November.”

The company’s flagship winter products continued to receive strong reviews, with the Hakkapeliitta 10 studded tyre and Hakkapeliitta R5 non-studded tyre taking top positions in multiple European tyre tests.

Nokian also announced it had begun personnel negotiations in Finland regarding efficiency improvements, which have resulted in eight permanent white-collar job cuts.

“This is part of our journey when we want to improve efficiency and productivity,” Pompei said. “This is necessary to support the company in this journey.”

The company’s Vianor retail chain reported improved performance, with net sales rising 7 per cent at constant exchange rates to 74.9 million euros, whilst the segment’s operating loss narrowed to 6.4 million euros from 6.6 million euros.

Nokian maintained its 2025 guidance unchanged, expecting net sales to grow and segment operating profit as a percentage of net sales to improve compared with the previous year.

The company said tyre demand in its markets is expected to remain at 2024 levels. However, it cautioned that “development of the global economy as well as geopolitical, trade and tariff uncertainties may cause volatility to the company’s business environment.”

For the first nine months, net sales grew 9.4 percent to 957.3 million euros, whilst segment operating profit rose to 40.2 million euros from 35.4 million euros. Segment EBITDA margin improved to 14.1 percent from 13.5 percent.

Asked about margin volatility in the passenger car segment, which has swung sharply on a quarterly basis over the past two years, Pompei said stability should improve.

“Of course, you will see more stability in the development of the margins moving forward, because now, finally, we can leverage our increased capacity, we can leverage an efficient manufacturing footprint,” he said.

PCBL Chemical Limited said it has appointed Sanjay Prabhakar Ghawghawe as Chief Manufacturing Operations and Executive Director, with effect from 5 January 2026.

In its disclosure, PCBL said that Ghawghawe’s appointment is on a full-time basis and does not carry a fixed term.

Ghawghawe brings about 29 years of industry experience, including roles at Owens Brockway, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Petro Marketing, Asian Paints and Avery Dennison (India). His most recent position was Chief Manufacturing Operations at Pidilite Industries.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Nagpur University and a postgraduate diploma in business management from the Institute of Business Management and Research, Pune University. The company said there are no relationships between Ghawghawe and the directors of PCBL.

CarbonX has announced that Daniela Sordi, its Chief Technology Officer and co-founder, has been appointed a Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering, the country’s leading body representing excellence in engineering, technology and applied scientific innovation.

Sordi is one of 15 experts selected for the Fellowship, which recognises engineers who have demonstrated significant impact in their fields and who contribute to major societal transitions.

Sordi is internationally recognised for her work on advanced three-dimensional structured carbon materials designed to improve lithium-ion battery performance. She has more than 17 years of experience across research and industry, translating chemistry and materials science into manufacturing technologies.

At CarbonX, she has led the development of battery materials that the company says charge faster, last longer and are up to five times more sustainable than conventional synthetic graphite. Under her technical leadership, the company has secured funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator and advanced efforts to strengthen Europe’s autonomy in energy-storage materials.

“Daniela’s appointment to the NAE is an outstanding recognition of her ability to bridge groundbreaking science with high-impact industrial innovation,” said Rutger van Raalten, chief executive of CarbonX. “Her work lies at the core of our mission to enable cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable energy technologies on a global scale.”

The appointment also highlights Ms Sordi’s role as a visible advocate for engineering careers, particularly for women entering deep technology and advanced materials. Her career is frequently cited as an example for students pursuing technical and innovation-led professions.

The Netherlands Academy of Engineering brings together senior engineers from academia, industry and applied research. Its members contribute to national and international innovation agendas and advise on technological responses to challenges such as climate, energy, health and digitalisation.

Toyo Tires has achieved a new benchmark in sustainable tyre design with a concept model composed of 96.5 percent renewable and recycled materials. This marks the company’s highest sustainable content to date, surpassing its own previous 90 percent sustainable concept and demonstrating ongoing progress in substituting traditionally hard-to-replace components without sacrificing performance.

The materials are categorised as either renewable, constituting 61.5 percent of the tyre, or recycled, making up the remaining 35 percent. Renewable inputs are derived from biomass and plants, including specialised rubbers, polyester fibres, silica from rice husk ash and oils. The recycled portion incorporates carbon black, steel components and a novel CO₂-derived rubber developed with the University of Toyama. A key technical breakthrough involved successfully integrating recycled sulphur and zinc oxide, which are vital to the tyre manufacturing process and have historically presented significant replacement challenges. This integration was accomplished using the company’s established production and compounding expertise.

This concept represents a critical step toward Toyo Tire’s publicly stated goals of utilizing 40 percent sustainable materials by 2030 and achieving full 100 percent adoption by 2050. Beyond its material composition, the tire has also earned a top-tier ‘AAA’ rolling resistance rating in Japan. This high rating signifies extremely low energy loss during operation, which can help extend electric vehicle driving range and reduce overall lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.

Moving forward, Toyo Tire intends to advance its research and technical development with the objective of transitioning these innovative material applications and design principles into future commercial products. This effort is part of the company’s broader commitment to fostering a more sustainable mobility ecosystem.

Shakti Cords Pvt. Ltd has appointed Purushothama Kini as managing director of Shakti Cords and its group companies, marking a leadership transition at the textile reinforcements manufacturer.

Kini brings more than three decades of experience in the industrial and technical textile sector. His background includes manufacturing excellence, operational transformation, quality systems and global customer engagement.

The company said his leadership experience in driving sustainable growth, strengthening processes and supporting organisational development would be a key asset as Shakti Cords continues to position itself as a reliable partner to customers.

Shakti Cords was established in 2003 and manufactures textile reinforcements for the rubber industry. Its product range includes single-end dipped cords, industrial hose yarns and single-end tyre cords made from polyester, aramid, PVA, nylon 6/66 and rayon. These materials are used in power transmission belts, industrial hoses and performance tyres.

The company said the use of high-modulus, low-shrinkage dipped cords and high-tenacity braiding yarns improves strength and operational performance across these applications.

Shakti Cords, as per the company website, has a total production capacity of 3,000 tonnes a year for single-end dipped cords and dipped industrial hose yarns. It holds the largest share of the Indian market for dipped single-end yarns and cords.