India, Aug. 7 -- Japanese tyre maker cites weak Asian demand, raw material cost pressures Japanese tyre maker Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd posted a 34.7 percent drop in first-half business profit from its core tyre division, weighed down by weak demand from Chinese automakers and higher raw material costs.The company's tyre business profit fell to 22.2 billion yen for the six months ended 30 June, down from 34.0 billion yen a year earlier, whilst tyre sales revenue declined 1.6 percent to 488.3 billion yen. Sumitomo Rubber, which owns the Falken brand and recently acquired Dunlop trademark rights in key markets, said overseas original equipment sales dropped significantly due to production cuts by automobile manufacturers in Asia, parti...