Page 96 - TURKRptSept19

time when the Turkish construction and housing sectors are going through dire straits amid the economic turmoil sparked by the Turkish lira crisis of last summer. The construction industry in Turkey contracted some 11% y/y in the first quarter of 2019, following the 5.6% y/y and 8.7% y/y declines in the industry’s output rates in the previous two quarters, respectively. In June this year, house sales plunged 40% y/y to 61,355 units. In the first half of the year, the local housing market contracted 22% compared to the same period of last year. In a fresh bid to revive the local housing market, three state-owned banks earlier this month slashed their interest rates on housing loans.
Sabanci Holding has completed the sale of its 57.88% stake in woollen textiles producer Yunsa to Turkish company Surmegoz Tekstil Yatırım for a consideration of Turkish lira (TRY) 69.5mn (around €11mn). The share transfer agreement was signed on August 27, Sabanci said in a filing with the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
Shares in Yunsa closed the day 9.71% lower to trade at TRY4.4 on August 27 but Sabanci shares were up 1.15% d/d. The benchmark index of the Borsa Istanbul, the BIST-100, was down 0.56% to 96,550.
Sabanci Holding has mandated its CEO Cenk Alper and Cement Group head Tamer Saka to sell its entire 57.9% stake in woollen textiles producer Yunsa, the conglomerate said on August 26 in a stock exchange filing.
Yunsa makes up 4.6% of Sabanci’s net asset value. Yunsa shares were trading with an EV/Ebitda of 4.7, Is Invest said in its daily bulletin.
Sabanci shares (SAHOL) were down 2.04% d/d to TRY8.65 and up 24.85% y/y as of 13:00 Istanbul time, while Yunsa shares (YUNSA) jumped 19.8% d/d to TRY4.84, meaning they were down 21% y/y. The benchmark index of the Borsa Istanbul, the BIST-100, was down 0.75% to 96,417, but up 11.06% y/y.
In May, the conglomerate sold its buses and light trucks maker Temsa to Swiss firm True Value Capital Partners. The sale was made based on a value of TRY375mn after adjusting for debt and cash holdings, and including the 49% stake owned by Sabanci and the other 51% owned by Sabanci family.
Sabanci Holding, founded in 1967, is active in banking and financial services (Akbank, Avivasa), energy (Enerjisa), cement, retail (Teknosa, Carrefoursa) and industry sectors.
Sabanci’s industry group consists of tyre maker Brisa, textile makers Kordsa and Yunsa and cement makers Akcansa and Cimsa.
Sabanci Holding has controlling interests in 11 companies that are also listed on the Istanbul stock exchange.
Sabanci Group companies operate in 16 countries and market their products in regions across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, North and South America.
Sabanci Holding’s multinational business partners include Ageas, Aviva, Bridgestone, Carrefour, E.ON, Heidelberg Cement, Marubeni and Philip Morris.
The Sabanci family has a 53.9% stake in Sabanci Holding and other Sabanci companies have another 3.3% while the remaining 42.8% is on free-float.
Foreigners’ share of the free-float stood at 73.76% as of August 23, down from 73.94% at end-July.
96 TURKEY Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com