News Detail

 

Last year, Sabancı Group increased its consolidated net sales by 20 percent to 19.4 billion YTL. It has announced its consolidated net sales target for year 2008 as 21.7 billion YTL, representing an increase of 12 percent.

 

Sabancı Holding Annual Information Sharing Meeting 2008, where Sabancı Group’s financial achievements in 2007, and targets and expectations for 2008 were announced, took place at Sabancı Centre with the attendance of Holding Chairman Guler Sabancı and CEO Ahmet Dorduncu.

 

In the evaluation meeting, Sabancı Holding Chairman Guler Sabancı said; “It’s time to pull ourselves together and look ahead in a different direction. We should not make a plan for the future by looking at what we’ve been through.”

 

Guler Sabancı pointed out that the sub-prime mortgage crisis that emerged at the end of 2007 caused the financial markets to lose credibility, and gave rise to a danger of recession. Sabancı said, although the energy and oil prices create an inflationary pressure on global economy, significant business opportunities have arisen for Turkey as well.

 

Sabancı mentioned that in such a world, Turkey faces important opportunities. Sabancı said, “If we avoid political crises; we see that there will be an excess liquidity put into circulation in the global markets for purposes of dealing with the global sub-prime crisis, which excess will constitute a major opportunity, and that Turkey could be one of the markets where such excess liquidity may flow to, as a result of the financial losses and instability in the USA.  We believe that, under such circumstances, it can also contribute to the financing of the current account deficit in the short run.  These levels of oil, gas and energy prices end up with a considerable build up of liquidity in the countries having such resources.  On the other hand, there are doubts about the ever-trusted institutions, banks and funds of the USA.  These funds will eventually flow somewhere.  We are in a fortunate position.  We must use this opportunity well.  Using this opportunity well depends upon our sticking to our direction.  Hence, our direction is to progress towards Europe.  Journey to Europe is a journey of Turkey to the civilisation.”

 

Guler Sabancı identified as threats to the economy the inflationary pressures to arise from the increased oil and raw material prices, the so-far missing implementation of the micro-based reforms which would structurally enhance the efficiency of the economy, and the increased unemployment as a result thereof.

 

Regarding her expectations for the coming period, Sabancı said, “We need to find new ways for sustainable, competitive production and real sector.  For several years we have been pointing out most of the urgent actions to be taken, of which preparations have already been undertaken.  However, we should speed up the implementation thereof.  The ones of utmost urgency are the Social Security Law, the new Turkish Commercial Code, and of course the fight struggle against black economy.  Inspection is not enough to fight with black economy; we must eliminate the actual causes thereof in all our other legal arrangements.  In addition to that, the power generation plants should be privatised with priority so that the capacity can be increased in a short time.  A rapid implementation of all of these measures would only enable us to make up for the time we lost in 2007.  Additional policies and activities focused on the real sector are necessary, which would provide us with a higher growth rate, i.e. 7% at the least, in the changing global dynamics during 2008 and beyond.”

 

-        Year 2007 Results of the Sabancı Group

In his speech, Ahmet Dorduncu, CEO of Sabancı Holding, revealed the results the Sabancı Group as of the end of 2007.  According to the data given by Dorduncu, Sabancı Group, invested approximately 800 million dollars in 2007, plans to invest 1.5 billion dollars in 2008.  Over the previous year, Sabancı Group increased its operating profit by 23 percent to 3.2 billion YTL in 2007.  In 2008, the group aims an operating profit of 3.7 billion YTL, which represents an increase of 16 percent.

 

Sabancı Group, who had a total workforce of 45,800 employees in 2006, and 53,400 in 2007, targets to increase the total number of its employees to 55,500 in 2008, representing an increase of 4 percent.