SEOUL, KOREA — Despite a poor global economy, Hankook Tire continued performing well through its third quarter, thanks to high demand of the company’s Ultra-High Performance (UHP) tires.

Things are looking good for Hankook Tire after it announced its third quarter results for 2012 reached 1.79 trillion KRW (Korean Won) in global sales revenue.

With a 5.8 per cent year-over-year increase, Hankook said it’s maintaining an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year as it reaches towards its annual target set at the start of 2012.

“Increasing demand in our UHP tires helped our growth despite the global economy experiencing persistent stagnation,” said Seung Hwa Suh, Hankook Tire vice chairman and global CEO.

Earnings from this period accounted for 25.4% of the manufacturer’s entire global sales, as year-to-year UHP tire sales went up by 68.9 per cent in North America, 50 per cent in China, and 10.9 per cent in Europe.

Hankook Tire said other driving forces behind its growth are due to its expansion of its manufacturing facilities in Hungary, along with new OEM fitment agreements in North America and China.