Mehmet Çakmur, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager of Kocaer Çelik, stated in the program he participated in Bloomberg HT that the company made a strong start to 2025 and that they positively differentiated from the sector with their high value-added product strategies. Çakmur stated, "We do not foresee a decline in our sales and profitability performance in 2025. By 2030, our goal is to increase the proportion of high value-added products to 70%."
“We increased sales volume, the decrease in revenues is price-driven”
Stating that they achieved a 21% increase in their sales volume in the first quarter of the year, reaching 150 thousand tons, Çakmur stated, “Despite the decline in steel prices, our turnover was TRY 4.5 billion.” Stating that average steel prices declined by about USD 100 per ton compared to last year, Çakmur emphasized that this led to a 15% decrease in revenues.
“Our EBITDA margin increased to 14%, we are growing debt-free”
Çakmur announced that they increased EBITDA margin, which measures operating profitability, by 300 bps compared to last year to 14%. "We achieved this success without borrowing. We take care to keep our net debt / EBITDA ratio at 1," he concluded.
“High value-added product ratio increased to 49%, our 2030 target is 70%”
Stating that the company is focusing on new product strategies, Çakmur stated, “We increased the ratio of high value-added products from 42% in 2024 to 49% in the first quarter of 2025. Some of these products will be produced by us for the first time in Türkiye” Çakmur noted that they aim to increase this ratio to 70% as part of their 2030 vision.
“We are establishing distribution channels in new geographies”
Stating that their export performance is strong, Çakmur underlined, "We export 75 tons of the 100 tons we produce. We aim to establish distribution channels in different geographies to ensure sustainability in exports. We are in a deeper structuring especially in the American market." He noted that service centers and production facilities may be on the agenda in the medium term.
“We are targeting 10% growth in 2025, 2026 will be better”
Stating that they are targeting a 10% growth in sales volume in 2025, Çakmur also shared his expectations for the steel market: "Global markets are expected to recover in the last quarter of 2025. I believe that 2026 will be a more positive year for the sector."
“12 thousand different products, exports to 140 countries”
Drawing attention to Kocaer Çelik's wide product range, Çakmur stated, "We produce 12,000 different products and export these products to 140 countries in 6 continents. Thanks to this diversity and niche production, we are positively differentiated from the market by maintaining our margins."
Comments
No comment yet.