South Korea’s Hankook Tire Co. reported record sales of $6.44 billion in 2012, and leveraged that for a 58% improvement in operating profit.

The tiremaker said its 2012 sales were 8.3% up from 2011’s $5.67 billion result. 2012 operating profit came in at $836.8 million, up from 2011’s $504.9 million.

Hankook attributed much of its sales success to a “sharp increase” in sales of UHP tires, which the company said rose 30.2% year-over-year.
 
Hankook Tire America Corp. also saw “impressive growth,” the company said, posting 2012 sales of $1.2 billion, up 20% from 2011 results.
 
“Hankook is dedicated to providing tires to consumers and our OE partners that meet the quality and performance that they have come to expect from the Hankook brand,” said Byeong Jin Lee, president of Hankook Tire America Corp. “Our continued efforts to build brand awareness and to provide the highest level of product value have certainly helped us in the U.S. and we will continue our efforts in 2013 and beyond.”