KOÇ HOLDING
March 31, 2015
KOÇ HOLDING HOLDS ITS 51st ORDINARY GENERAL SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING
MUSTAFA V. KOÇ, CHAIRMAN OF KOÇ HOLDING:
"WITH THE GOAL OF BECOMING A MAJOR GLOBAL PLAYER AS WELL AS A LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEADER, WE ARE FOCUSING ON SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE GROWTH WHILE CONTINUING TO DEVELOP INVESTMENTS THAT CREATE ADDED VALUE."
Koç Holding held its 51st Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting on Tuesday, March 31. During his address to investors, stakeholders, business partners, and employees at the opening speech of the General Meeting, Chairman Mustafa V. Koç emphasized that Koç Holding was Turkey's biggest conglomerate in terms of revenues and exports, shares traded on the Borsa Istanbul, taxes paid, and employment. Koç declared 2014 another successful year for the Koç Holding, stating, "We strive to create value for all stakeholders while growing stronger than ever thanks to the confidence and trust our country has bestowed on us for the past 89 years despite fluctuations in the Turkish economy. Accordingly, in 2014, we kept our focus on our business while maintaining a long term perspective, working for our country, and completing our investments within their time frames and budget constraints. With this approach, we achieved great feats together as a team knowing that "If we can't do it, no one can!" In 2014, we initiated the projects that we had been working on enthusiastically for a long time, and we are determined to pursue new investment projects in 2015. We will maintain our full-scale efforts to grow abroad and to invest in new products, brands, R&D, and technology and to spearhead innovation in the finance industry.
Mustafa V. Koç: "We fully support the 2015 plans for investment, growth, employment, and equal opportunity for women."
During his speech at the Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting, Mustafa V. Koç assessed
2014 and its global economic developments, stressing that the year was an intensive one in terms of both economic and political developments. "Positive signs in the housing and employment markets indicate that a great deal has been accomplished in overcoming the crisis in the United States, where the global crisis erupted six years ago. Following the gradual cutback in the liquidity that it provides to the markets, the Federal Reserve is now expected to raise the key interest rate, which has been close to zero for years," he said. Koç stressed the heightened expectations that European governments and the European Central Bank will both adopt growth-oriented policies in Europe. "We find this to be encouraging and support the plans of the G-20 presidency, which Turkey took over in 2015, for investment, growth, employment, and equal opportunity for women. Furthermore, we, as the business community, continue to do our part to ensure that our country carries out its term in the presidency in the best way possible," he declared.
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Mustafa V. Koç: "We focus on productivity and sustainable profitability through a balanced portfolio structure."
Chairman Koç emphasized that Koç Holding, Turkey's biggest R&D investor, combines innovative and diverse product ranges with superior service quality to boost its competitiveness. "Key elements of our strategy include getting involved in the industries in which we can make a difference and have a competitive advantage. We combine international partnerships with a sound and flexible governance approach while also combining outstanding competitive advantages with long-term strategies. With a strong balance sheet and a balanced portfolio made up of diverse business interests, we mitigate industry-related and geographical risks while focusing on productivity and sustainable profitability," he explained. Koç stressed the importance they place on risk management systems and policies in order to successfully manage economic and geopolitical fluctuations that may arise throughout Turkey. He went on to say, "For the same reason, we find it essential to maintain a resilient financial structure. We therefore make it a priority to carry out actions that allow us to save money and reduce our costs. By managing our debts by spreading them out over time, we take great pains to manage our business capital well. We continue to create value for our stakeholders by making sustainability a priority."
Mustafa V. Koç: "Koç Holding's market cap has risen above BIST average, and we are pleased with the high performing share value."
Chairman Koç pointed out that Koç Holding and its 11 publicly traded companies account for
17 percent of the total market value of the companies traded on the Borsa Istanbul (BIST) as of the end of 2014. "With an awareness of our responsibility arising from the fact that Koç Holding companies account for 17 percent of the BIST, Koç Holding constantly strives to advance stakeholder value through internationally accepted corporate governance and investment relations practices," he said. Koç stated that Koç Holding's market cap surged 43 percent while the value of the BIST 30 composite index rose by 29 percent year-on-year as of year-end 2014. He cited the high value they created for investors as the reason for foreign investors' growing interest in Koç Holding. Mustafa V. Koç went on to say, "Koç Holding's publicly traded shares held by foreign investors performed 80.9 percent over the stock market average. While holding companies in Turkey were traded with an average of 30 percent discount on their net asset values, Koç Holding was traded with an average of 1 percent premium. We are pleased to see a relatively high performance of Koç Holding's share value that was brought about by our successful business results, our long-term strategic approach, our continued focus on protecting stakeholder interest while effectively managing risks, our financial strength, and the importance we attach to corporate governance. Koç Holding has carved out for itself a leading role not only in an economic sense but also in terms of creating social benefits. We are proud to be recognized for our companies and projects, knowing that 'If we can't do it, no one can!'"
Turgay Durak: "In 2014, we posted consolidated revenues of 68.6 billion Turkish lira as well as a net profit of 2.7 billion Turkish lira for the parent company."
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Representing the Board of Directors of Koç Holding at the Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting, Koç Holding CEO Turgay Durak shared his assessments on the fiscal year 2014. Durak stated that Koç Holding posted consolidated revenues of 68.6 billion Turkish lira as well as a net profit of 2.7 billion Turkish lira for the parent company in 2014. He reminded his listeners that 2014 was the Koç Holding's largest organic investment period, saying, "As planned, we completed major growth-focused investments and introduced new products, plants, and facilities one after another. We achieved a record-breaking total consolidated investment of 7.6 billion Turkish lira. Knowing that "If we can't do it, no one can," we were pleased to have completed the investments we had been working hard on while maintaining our leadership in the energy industry in 2014. We are delighted with our investments of 25 billion Turkish lira over the past five years." Turgay Durak shared an example of one of these investments; namely, the Resid Upgrading Project by Tüpraş, which has a current investment value of $3 billion covering the costs of the port and railroad connections as well as financing. "We expect to cut down our country's energy imports by $1 billion with the largest single industrial investment ever carried out by the Turkish private sector.
Turgay Durak: "Koç Holding became Turkey's biggest R&D investor with 920 million Turkish lira in 2014."
Durak said that Koç Holding strives to expand its competitive advantage in its industries by leading in technology and innovation, and for this reason it focuses on innovative, environmentally sensitive, and energy-efficient products and services. He stated that in addition to the 3.4 billion Turkish lira investments made between 2007 and 2013, the Koç Holding had spent nearly 920 million Turkish lira on R&D in 2014, accounting for almost 10 percent of the total private sector R&D spending in Turkey. "We achieved a 30 percent increase in our R&D spending and a 13 percent rise in the number of personnel year-on-year in 2014, thereby showcasing our determination for solid investment in these areas," explained Durak.
Koç Holding's new Board of Directors appointed
New members of the board of directors were appointed at the 51st Ordinary General
Shareholders' Meeting. The new members of the Board of Directors are as follows:
Rahmi M. Koç, Honorary Chairman
Mustafa V. Koç, Chairman Temel K. Atay, Vice Chairman Ömer M. Koç, Vice Chairman Semahat Arsel, Member
Ali Y. Koç, Member
Dr. Bülent Bulgurlu, Member Prof. John H. McArthur, Member Prof. Heinrich V. Pierer, Member Peter Denis Sutherland, Member
Kwok King Victor Fung, Independent Member
Muharrem Hilmi Kayhan, Independent Member
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Kutsan Çelebican, Independent Member Mustafa Kemal Olgaç, Independent Member Jacques Nasser, Independent Member
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