JULY 30, 2002

Michelin improves forecasts

The tire business has been struggling in recent months because of the general malaise in the world economy but Europe's biggest tire maker says it is expecting to perform better than forecast this year thanks to the improving market conditions. The company's first half figures were considerably down on the same period last year although that was inflated by the sale of the company's share in PSA Peugeot-Citroen. If the money raised from that deal is discounted Michelin's profits have grown dramatically, rising from $67m last year to $254m this year. The share price has been rising steadily this year, despite the general downward trend of the stock exchanges.

In part the improved figures are down to the company's improved image thanks to its involvement in Formula 1 although judging how much of an impact this has had is a very difficult thing to do.