Kramer Confident in Strategy, Says Goodyear Has Momentum

News provided by

Apr 12, 2011, 09:50 ET

AKRON, Ohio, April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In his address at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's (NYSE: GT) Annual Shareholder Meeting today, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard J. Kramer said he is confident in Goodyear's strategy and believes the company is well positioned to achieve its goals.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20050204/GTLOGO )

Kramer said he is pleased with Goodyear's 2010 performance, which exceeded the company's targets. The company's financial results reflected significant improvement in all four regional tire businesses, most notably North American Tire's return to profitability, he said.

Among the achievements Kramer highlighted were:

Price/mix improvements that offset the impact of higher raw material costs,
The high percentage of new products in the company's overall lineup,
Cost actions and fixed cost recovery that flowed to the company's bottom line, and
Significant investments in the company's future growth in targeted market segments.

These accomplishments, Kramer said, "are evidence of our positive momentum and give us confidence that, in 2011, we will continue to strengthen our leadership position in the industry."

He said Goodyear will do this by being first with customers, the leader in targeted market segments and the leader in innovation.

"As confident as I am in our strategies and plans, there's a critical element that brings them to life. That's our team. From management to the shop floor, the men and women around the world who represent The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company form the best team in the industry," Kramer added.

"Our customers, consumers, suppliers and shareholders deserve nothing less. Because of the passion, talent and strength of these 72,000 associates, I continue to look forward with enthusiasm and optimism to a bright future for Goodyear."

Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs approximately 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 55 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear or its products, go to www.goodyear.com.

Certain information contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, that affect our operations, performance, business strategy and results and could cause our actual results and experience to differ materially from the assumptions, expectations and objectives expressed in any forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: our ability to realize anticipated savings and operational benefits from our cost reduction initiatives or to implement successfully other strategic initiatives; increases in the prices paid for raw materials and energy; pension plan funding obligations; actions and initiatives taken by both current and potential competitors; deteriorating economic conditions or an inability to access capital markets; work stoppages, financial difficulties or supply disruptions at our suppliers or customers; the adequacy of our capital expenditures; a labor strike, work stoppage or other similar event; our failure to comply with a material covenant in our debt obligations; potential adverse consequences of litigation involving the company; as well as the effects of more general factors such as changes in general market, economic or political conditions or in legislation, regulation or public policy. Additional factors are discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.

SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company