"In the first 9 months of 2022, our company increased its net profit by 132%"

In the statement, Yükselen Çelik said;

"In the first 9 months of 2022, our company increased its sales revenues by 172%, its nominal EBITDA amount by 142% and its nominal net profit by 132%. The net profit margin, which was 15.6% in the first half of 2022, has increased in the 9-month period due to the adverse conditions experienced in the third quarter. Our sales revenues at the end of 2022 were around 1.4 billion TL, in line with our expectations.

Due to the energy crisis and economic contraction in Europe due to the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the global inflation, as well as the slowdown in the credit supply in our country; demand for steel decreased and as a result, steel / commodity prices decreased. Depending on the market conditions, our company's sales prices are moving downwards as of the 3rd quarter of 2022; our profit margin has decreased due to rising costs and high inflation.

In the first 11 months of 2022, world crude steel production decreased by 3.7% compared to the same period of the previous year and became 1,691.4 million tons. Again, in the first 11 months of 2022, Turkey's crude steel production decreased by 12.3% compared to the same period of the previous year and became 32.5 million tons. In this context, while the world steel production contracted in 2022, Turkey contracted relatively more by dissociating negatively. Despite this, there is a growth in terms of sales volumes specific to our company. Our sales amount, which was 55,169 tons in 2021, increased by 5.7% and reached 58,320 tons in 2022. The increasing sales volumes of our company in the shrinking market also reveal the increase in our market share.

While our company recorded a remarkable growth in nominal figures both in TL and foreign currency in 2022; Due to the negative conditions in the second half of the year, the profit margin decreased (again in the second half of the year compared to the first half). If the normalization process experienced as of the 4th quarter continues in the first quarter of 2023 and the market conditions are suitable, it may be possible to achieve the profit margins in the first half of 2022.

For 2023, due to the possibility of continuing high inflation and macro-economic problems, as well as the election year in our country; instead of targeting significant growth in terms of quantity and sales revenues, it is planned to target an increase in profitability. In this context, our company partially or completely exits some product groups with low profit margins; aims to increase the sales volume of more profitable and niche products.

Finally, there has been a remarkable growth in our export activities in 2022; This growth is likely to continue in 2023. The increase in our export activities not only affects our cash flow positively, but also increases our foreign exchange income; it reduces the derivative transaction expenses used to hedge the FX short position."