Goodyear CEO Kramer Confident in Strategy, Says Company Has Momentum

In his address at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's 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. 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: 1. Price/mix improvements that offset the impact of higher raw material costs, 2. The high percentage of new products in the company's overall lineup, 3. Cost actions and fixed cost recovery that flowed to the company's bottom line, and 4. 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.