Page 105 - TURKRptJun19

transport corridors that stretch across countries including Turkey, Iran and Georgia, railway-news.com reported on May 7. The companies will jointly promote freight traffic on Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia-Europe routes within the western section of the international north-south transport corridor and on the Russia-Azerbaijan-Turkey route on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line.
9.2.4 Construction & Real estate corporate news
Italy’s Astaldi has relaunched talks to sell its 33.35% stake in Turkey’s Third Bosphorus Bridge, Reuters reported sources as saying. The sources, however, did not name any potential buyers. In September last year, the Italian firm said that political turmoil in Turkey and a plunge in the country’s currency had led to a delay in receiving offers for the stake. But in November it announced that a non-binding offer from fellow Italian company and construction firm Salini Impregilo was received. Astaldi was hoping to sell the stake in the bridge—also known as the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and one of the tallest bridges in the world—to strengthen its liquidity and cut debt. The bridge for rail and motor vehicle traffic, located near the Bosphorus strait entrance to the Black Sea, opened in August 2016. The government guarantees that IC Ictas-Astaldi consortium will receive, at a minimum, the toll income from 49mn vehicles a year. However, Transport Minister Cahit Turhan said at the end of last year that only 13.8mn cars used the bridge in 2018 and the government would make a payment of TRY463mn to the operating firms under the build-operate-transfer deal.
State-owned developer Emlak REIT has announced that it is to hold an auction on May 28 at its headquarters to sell a total of 15 properties worth TRY319mn (€47mn). The earmarked properties are in the capital Ankara, Istanbul and the northwestern province of Tekirdag. Emlak REIT is Turkey’s largest, and the world’s 121st biggest, real estate investment trust, according to a presentation on the company’s website. But it is suffering from the weak economic performance of the Turkish economy. It sold a total of 6,500 units last year, down from 14,000 units sold in 2013. In 2017 and 2016, the company sold 7,600 and 6.400 units, respectively. In the first quarter of 2019, it sold 510. In line with weaker sales, the company’s revenues have declined. Emlak REIT reported a net profit of TRY1.3bn for 2018 versus TRY1.76bn in 2017. Net income was only TRY54mn in the first quarter of this year.
Turkey’s Tasyapi has started preparatory works for the construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo motorway, eKapija reported on May 13. In December, Serbia granted Tasyapi a contract for the construction of the first stretch of the motorway, which will link the capitals of Serbia and Bosnia. The project is worth €250mn. Serbia will invest €1.05bn in the construction of its part of the motorway. The total cost of the motorway is estimated at €3bn.
9.2.5 Retail corporate news
Migros, one of Turkey’s largest retailers, added 17 new stores to its network in April. 12 Migros, four Migros Jet and one Macrocenter shop were launched in the month. With new additions, the number of stores Migros operates in Turkey has increased to 2,070. The retailer also has 45 stores abroad. Last year, the company’s sales increased by 22% to Turkish lira (TRY) 18.7bn. Its share in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment was 7.1% while it captured a 16.7% share in the modern FMCG market. Migros posted a net loss of TRY835mn last year versus the TRY509mn net profit seen in 2017. In 2018, Migros opened a total of 238 stores. Its investments totalled TRY488mn which corresponded to 2.6% of its total sales. In its guidance for 2019, released in December, the company said it expected a 20% expansion in sales revenues while it predicted an Ebitda margin of 6%. It also said it planned to open a total of 100 stores this and that its investment would amount to TRY300mn.
105 TURKEY Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com