Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., North America's largest tire maker, had a third-quarter net loss of $105.9 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with net income of $32.7 million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose to $3.9 billion from $3.53 billion a year ago.
The company restated its financial results from 1998 to 2002 and said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had started an "informal inquiry" into the restatements. In the restatement, the company cut retained earnings by about $95 million, and added about $6 million to earnings from the first nine months of 2003 because of accounting errors made by a new computer system.
Goodyear officials said its North American businesses were hit by higher raw material prices during the quarter as well as weaker demand for truck and private-label tires.
The company took a pre-tax charge of $56 million, or 27 cents a share, for various restructuring moves, including layoffs and equipment write-offs. It also took a $49.3 million charge for liability claims, mainly for a settlement related to a discontinued line of rubber hoses.
