MILAN (Reuters) -Tyremaker Pirelli will seek to limit the impact of possible tariffs, including by expanding U.S. output, it said on Wednesday, while forecasting an adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin of around 16% for 2025, higher than last year.
The Italian tyremaker makes around 25% of its revenues on the North American market.
“We are considering significant investments in the U.S. to increase production capacity,” Executive Vice-chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera said in post-earnings call with analysts.
Pirelli is vulnerable to possible U.S. import tariffs, as it mostly serves its North American market through tyre output from its plants in Mexico, South America and Europe, even though it has a plant in the U.S. state of Georgia.
Pirelli said its mitigation plan in the event of U.S. tariffs also included a review of commercial policy based on inflation expectations, CEO Andrea Casaluci told the same analysts call.
Pirelli on Wednesday announced adjusted EBIT for the final quarter of 2024 of 244.6 million euros ($257.10 million), up 11.5% year-on-year, and exceeding a 228 million euro analyst consensus provided by the company.
It also posted a 15.7% adjusted EBIT margin for the whole of 2024, compared with a 15.5% target guided last August.
($1 = 0.9514 euros)
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan, Romolo Tosiani in Gdansk; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
