Updated

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. reported a sharp jump in its fourth-quarter net income, thanks to a $2 billion tax credit that offset unfavorable currency conditions and weak sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Shares of Goodyear rose more than 4 percent in premarket trading Tuesday.

The tire company reported net income of $2.13 billion, or $7.68 per share in the three months ending Dec. 31.

Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were 59 cents per share. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 58 cents per share.

Revenue fell 9.1 percent to $4.36 billion in the period, which missed Street forecasts. Analysts expected $4.39 billion, according to Zacks.

The company said sales were hurt by $256 million due to a stronger U.S. dollar and $181 million due to lower sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Goodyear shares rose $1.08, or 4.2 percent, to $26.99 in premarket trading about a half-hour before the market opens Tuesday. Its shares have fallen more than 9 percent since the beginning of the year.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on GT at http://www.zacks.com/ap/GT

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Keywords: Goodyear, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings