Kardemir's 2017 sales soar nearly 70 pct to $1B

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish iron and steel giant Kardemir's sales last year rose 67.4 percent to reach 3.97 billion Turkish liras (nearly $1.1 billion), the company announced on Monday.

Following a loss in 2016, Kardemir's 2017 net profit was 251.5 million liras ($68.9 million).

The company’s profits -- based on core earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) -- reached 745.5 million liras ($204.3 million) in 2017, up 125.6 percent from 2016.

The company’s production also climbed 10.5 percent to 2.29 million tons in 2017. Kardemir's production target for 2018 is 3.5 million tons.

In 2017, the company's investments also reached 252.6 million liras ($69.2 million).

Kardemir’s assets in 2017 were 2.45 billion liras ($670 million), up 9.4 percent from the previous year.

The total number of employees of the company reached 4,190 people -- mostly blue-collar -- in 2017, up from 3,945 people in 2016.

Kardemir's donations and grants over the year totaled 10.43 million liras ($2.86 million).