(Recasts, adds company, analyst comment, capex plans, byline)
By Daniel Hauck
TOKYO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Top Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone Corp said on Friday that brisk exports helped its net profit surge 161 percent last year, confirming a comeback from a recall scandal that nearly destroyed its U.S. Firestone brand.
The results offered further evidence that Bridgestone -- battered for two years by the fallout from deadly accidents involving its U.S. unit's tyres -- had largely put the Firestone mess behind it after settling more than 700 related cases.
Consolidated net profit for 2002 was 45.38 billion yen ($383.4 million), or 51.97 yen per share, better than the 40 billion yen forecast by the company in December.
Operating profit jumped 56 percent to 183.86 billion yen as revenue rose 5.3 percent year-on-year to 2.248 trillion yen.
"We have achieved our crucial goal of returning our U.S. operations to the black," President Shigeo Watanabe told a news conference. Anticipating further growth this year after strong exports to the United States and Asia, the tyre giant said it would boost capital spending by 63 percent to 190 billion yen in 2003, with some of that going towards expanding global production capacity.
Bridgestone forecast a rise in net profit to 70 billion yen in 2003 on sales of 2.24 trillion yen.
Seven analysts polled by Multex expect an average 2003 net profit of 74.5 billion yen on sales of 2.27 trillion yen.
BUMPY ROAD AHEAD
But company officials cautioned that the operating environment could turn tougher in 2003, partly because tyre prices were likely to fall in many countries, although not in the United States, due to deflationary pressure and heated competition.
Bridgestone is also expected to take a blow from a strong yen, high rubber prices and weaker demand in the United States.
"I feel pretty cautious about this year for Bridgestone. There's a good chance that global car sales will slow down and that will hit their earnings," said Hiroshi Nishida at Mitsubishi Trust Asset Management Co Ltd.
However, the company has come a long way since the dark days of 2001 when its U.S. unit was overwhelmed by lawsuits after U.S. regulators linked Firestone tyres mostly installed on Ford Motor Co Explorers to 271 deaths and more than 800 injuries from rollover accidents.
Millions of tyres were recalled and Firestone's century-long relationship with Ford came undone as the U.S. unit sank to a $1.68 billion loss.
Bridgestone also saw its shares plunge on worries over a massive liability settlement and the future viability of the Firestone brand. Few expected a quick bounce-back in 2002.
But a new holding company structure and a $1.3 billion capital injection into Firestone, as well as the closure of an Illinois plant, helped steady the ship.
Bridgestone is also believed to have enough resources to settle Firestone's remaining lawsuits.
Bridgestone's shares ended up 0.15 percent on Friday at 1,359 yen but were still down over seven percent since the end of December on worries over a strong yen and high rubber prices.
The capital-weighted TOPIX index has remained roughly flat during that period. ($1=118.36 yen)