Eczacıbaşı Group CEO Atalay Gümrah said their goal is to exceed 2.2 billion euros in turnover with a 10 percent increase in 2024.
Stating that in an environment of dizzying geopolitical developments in the world economy and regional conflicts, and at a time when interest rates are rising, consumer confidence remains low, global supply chains are being reshaped and foreign trade routes are being redrawn, Gümrah said: “The increasing the effects of climate change are making natural disasters more frequent.” Floods caused by heavy rains or famines caused by drought increase their regional but ultimately global impacts day by day. As a result, the world is faced with uncontrollable migrations or sharp changes in the prices of basic foods,” he said.
“Growth will strengthen in the second half”
Stating that Turkey spent 2023 in two separate periods shaped by fundamentally different dynamics, Gümrah said: “2024 will be the year in which our country’s economy will continue to normalize with the contribution of the new macroeconomic program launched in the second half of 2023. “We expect that from the second half of 2024, inflation will decrease and domestic demand will slow down relatively,” Gümrah said, stating that the number of employees reached 13,500 through new investments and acquisitions, adding: “In FY 2024, we will increase our turnover by 10 percent in euros and reach 2. Our goal is to exceed a turnover of 2 billion euros.
“In contrast to slower growth in Turkey compared to 2023, we expect a period in which the contraction we experienced last year in international markets will end and growth will strengthen, especially in the second half,” he said.
“We will increase our export earnings by 15 percent”
Gümrah said that this year they expect to reach exports of around 800 million euros, and that although they have been negatively affected by the contraction in European markets, especially in Germany, they have achieved positive business results in the Middle East and America, “Our target for 2024 is to increase our export earnings thanks to the investments we made in 2023.” “Our goal in 2023 is to further increase our efficiency in the US, North Africa and the Middle East, which are our more active markets,” he said.
Gümrah said it had recently achieved a 20-megawatt investment in solar panels at its facilities as part of its green energy transformation and said it had earmarked 500 million euros in its 2024 investment budget. Gümrah said: “Our investments for growth will continue in all our main business lines for the next 5 years. “We have an investment plan of more than 2 billion euros for the period 2024-2028 to develop and grow the business of the Eczacıbaşı Group and minimize the effects of climate change,” he said.
Investment plans in the Middle East and Central Asia
Gümrah said there are partnership and investment plans in the field of ceramic sanitary ware and industrial minerals in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the Gulf region, and said they are working on various cooperation and investment opportunities in Central Asian countries. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, especially to develop metal mining fields. Gümrah said: “On the other hand, we are looking to expand our current investment in tissue paper in Morocco in North Africa with further investments and acquisitions as opportunities arise and to use the region as a base to be more efficient in Africa.”
“We expect foreign investment to grow”
Atalay Gümrah said that the growth of the domestic economy in 2024 may fall below 4 percent from the level of around 4.5 percent they expect for 2023, and that the improvement in the current account balance, the signals of which have begun to be received in recent months, will continue throughout 2024 and this improvement in the external balance will gradually improve, he said that they expect a positive reflection on external financing conditions and an increase in foreign direct investment.