Bridgestone Has Net Loss for First-Half 2001
Reuters
Bridgestone Corp. said it skidded into the red in the first half of 2001 in the wake of a devastating tire-recall scandal by its U.S. unit, Firestone.
Bridgestone President Shigeo Watanabe said fallout from the recall led to a group net loss of $250.3 million for the first half of 2001, but the tire maker still would be profitable for the full year.
An extraordinary loss of $570 million taken by Firestone in June to pay for lawsuits and clear up other costs related to the tire recall was the main factor behind Bridgestone’s profit drop.
Sales rose 3.7% to about $8.44 billion in the first half of 2001, helped by domestic demand and the weak yen.
