Turkish currency woes hurt Metair
The group planned for a difficult year due to new vehicle launches and the final bedding-down of foreign acquisitions, as well as geopolitical risk, including an attempted coup in Turkey
Metair, an international battery and automotive components supplier, booked a total comprehensive loss of R660m in the year to December 2016, mainly as a result of a Turkish currency devaluation of nearly R1.3bn on profits reported in rand. The group had planned for a difficult year due to new vehicle launches and the final bedding-down of foreign acquisitions, as well as geopolitical risk, including an attempted coup in Turkey, where it operates. This was followed by a big fall in the value of the Turkish currency. But the group’s Mutlu Akü battery operations in Turkey and its Rombat battery business in Romania saw record output and profit following “excellent” demand in the final quarter. Turkish vehicle production of about 1.2-million units per year is double South African vehicle production. This countered lower margins in the group’s South African battery operations, which resulted in higher levels of competition and some production inefficiencies. “In the context of an increas...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.