Goodyear More Than Doubles Earnings

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. boosted net income to $181 million in the second quarter of 2013 from $85 million a year earlier.

Goodyear's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 27% to a record $428 million. The company credits the increase to higher tire volume, a $53 million drop in raw materials costs and favorable pricing and mix.

Revenue fell 5% to $4.9 billion in the April-June period despite a 1% gain in global tire sales to 39.5 million units. The year-over-year revenue decline resulted in part from unfavorable exchange rates and lower sales at non-tire businesses, Goodyear says.

Second-quarter EBITDA at the company's North American and Asia-Pacific units climbed 9% to $204 million and 28% to $91 million, respectively. That marked the highest quarterly earnings ever in both regions. EBITDA grew % to $51 million in Europe and % to $82 million in Latin America as volume expanded modestly in both regions.

Goodyear upgraded its full-year outlook for EBITDA to the top of its previous range of $1.4 billion to a record $1.5 billion.