Kardemir held Its Ordinary General Assembly Meeting

At Kardemir’s 31st Ordinary General Assembly held at the KARDEMİR Education and Culture Center, shareholders were informed about the company’s 2025 activities and 2026 targets, with the meeting commencing with a moment of silence and the Turkish National Anthem.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Board Muhammed Ali Oflaz stated that 2025 was a challenging year marked by rising global uncertainties and mounting cost pressures. He noted that green transformation and artificial intelligence applications are reshaping the steel industry, while global crude steel production declined by 2% to 1.8 billion tons. Oflaz added that low-priced Chinese exports intensified trade tensions, while the change in administration in the U.S. and the European Union’s carbon regulations also impacted market dynamics.

Emphasizing that Türkiye positively differentiated itself during this period, Oflaz stated that the country rose to become Europe’s largest and the world’s seventh-largest steel producer.

Highlighting the company’s efficient use of production capacity, Oflaz said, “We achieved a historic record with 2.6 million tons of crude steel and 2.45 million tons of finished product output. We also reached the highest levels in 45 different operational areas, including liquid pig iron and liquid steel. This demonstrates the tangible results of our efficiency-focused approach.”

Referring to financial performance, Oflaz noted that high financing costs and the global slowdown affected profitability. He stated that while the company reported a profit of TRY 434 million under the Tax Procedure Law, inflation accounting resulted in a loss of TRY 1.6 billion. However, operating profit increased by TRY 2.5 billion year-on-year, returning to positive territory after two years. He added that EBITDA margin exceeding 10% marked the highest level since the post-COVID period.

Oflaz also stated that the company remains focused on value-added products, achieving a 40% increase in rail shipment volumes, while total exports and shipments rose by 12%.

Looking ahead, Oflaz said the company’s 2026 priorities include profitability-driven growth, broader market diversification, and increasing the share of value-added product exports.