Turkey's Savings Deposits Insurance Fund (TMSF) continues to successfully manage firms that were seized due to their ties with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
The market value of some 933 companies run by the fund has reached TL 55 billion ($10.45 billion), TMSF Chairman Muhiddin Gülal said.
Gülal was speaking at the fourth supply chain meeting of Aydınlı Group, one of Turkey's largest ready-to-wear retailers, in Istanbul on Wednesday.
At the event, Aydınlı Group executives held a meeting with members of the press and shared the group's financial performance so far this year as well as its visions and targets.
TMSF board member and Aydınlı Group Chairman of the board of directors, Hamit Sarı, CEO Mustafa Erbay and other senior executives of the company attended the meeting.
Since its transfer to the fund in January 2017, Aydınlı Group has posted the highest turnover in its history, company officials said.
Gülal said posted a turnover of TL 1.8 billion in the first 10 months of this year and is likely to end the year on TL 2 billion, compared to TL 1.3 billion in 2017.
The company will close the year with a total of 618 stores for its different brands, including Pierre Cardin, Cacharel, U.S. Polo Assn., Pierre Cardin Lingerie, Aydınlı and Aymerkez. Some 335 of these stores are in Turkey while 283 are abroad. Aydınlı Group CEO Erbay said the figures so far point to a 51 percent increase in the company's turnover. He also noted that the group aims to close the year with an increase of 52 percent in exports, reaching TL 378 million, compared to TL 248 million in 2017. "We have achieved the highest turnover in the 42 years of Aydınlı Group. Our profit margin reached 25 percent this year. It was 22 percent when we first took over the company. There is no such profitability in the ready-to-wear sector," said Erbay.
"We took over the group with 185 million euros of debt. We repaid 50 million euros in two years. At the end of this month, we will pay 10 million euros more with the support of the TMSF. Thus, the total debt rate will be reduced to 125 million euros," he added. Aydınlı Group also aims to increase the total number of its stores to 930, with 438 in Turkey and 490 abroad, he said.
Speaking about the group's targets, Erbay said that they were targeting turnover of over TL 5 billion by 2023. In addition, it wants to increase the share of exports in the total turnover by 20 percent. It aims to export products worth TL 1 billion.
TMSF Fund Board Member and Aydınlı Group Chairman of the Board of Directors Sarı said the group employed around 3,700 people in and outside Turkey when it was first transferred to the fund. Now it provides around 5,200 jobs in total. He also noted that the company aims to employ around 6,000 employees by next year.
