Business

Turkcell: Our goal is to invest more in our country

Turkcell Group’s net profit, which generated ₺8.5 billion in the second quarter of the year, increased by 31% to ₺1.1 billion. Saying that they have a very positive outlook on the future, Turkcell General Manager Murat Erkan said, “We will invest more in our country in this new period.”

Ending the second quarter of the year with successful financial and operational results, Turkcell continued its sustainable growth in 2021 as well. Turkcell Group, on a consolidated basis, increased its total revenues to ₺8.5 billion, an increase of 23.5% compared to the second quarter of the previous year. While the company’s EBITDA increased by 22.7% to ₺3.5 billion, its net profit increased by 31% to ₺1.1 billion. Continuing its strong customer acquisition in this period, Turkcell managed to exceed its target of “1 million new customers every year” in the first 6 months, with a total of 1.3 million new customers as of the end of June. Evaluating the results of the first half after the gong ceremony held to commemorate the 21st anniversary of Turkcell’s trading in Borsa Istanbul, Turkcell General Manager Murat Erkan said, “We also displayed a strong performance in the second quarter of this year. We managed to exceed our target of ‘1 million new customers every year’, which we started in 2019. Our motivation to develop solutions that add value to life for our country and our customers, thanks to our innovative technology and strong brand ecosystem, plays an important role in this successful picture. We look to the future very positively.”

TARGETS WERE REVISED

Turkcell General Manager Erkan stated that they revised their year-end targets upwards due to the successful operational and financial performance in the first half. “In this direction, we have revised the ratio of investments to revenues as 21-22% in addition to revenue growth of approximately 18% for 2021, EBITDA of around ₺14.3 billion.” Noting that thanks to the correct planning and the strategic focus areas they have determined, they have successfully completed the year by providing uninterrupted and high-quality service to their customers in 2021, despite the epidemic, Erkan said: “We look at the future very positively. With the pandemic, an era changes, a new era begins. In this new period, we will invest more in our country.”

LIFEBOX EXCEEDS THE 1 MILLION THRESHOLD

Turkcell digital services, which include important brands such as BiP, TV+, lifebox and fizy, increased its singular revenue by 32% year on year and reached ₺404 million in this quarter. On the other hand, the number of active users of Paycell reached 5.5 million in this period. Paycell’s mobile payment volume grew by 94% compared to the first quarter of last year, reaching ₺418 million. Mentioning the importance of Paycell for the group, Erkan said that the trend there will soon lead them to the ‘unicorn’ point. Erkan gave the following information: “Our goal here is that if we can find a strategic investor, we can evaluate anyone who wants to participate. Our economic and financial situation is very strong.”

WE OFFER ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO OUR CUSTOMER

Speaking at the opening gong ceremony held on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of Turkcell’s simultaneous trading on the Turkish and US stock exchanges, Turkcell Chairman of the Board of Directors Bulent Aksu said: “In this period when the pandemic triggered digitalization and remote operation, we became a business partner in the digital transformation journeys of all our companies, from the smallest to the largest. We continued to bring the world’s most advanced technologies to our customers. Today, we celebrate our strong growth performance as a company, in addition to the fact that Turkey’s Turkcell has been listed on the Borsa Istanbul for 21 years. We will continue to serve the realization of the ‘Digital Turkey’ vision and the construction of a strong digital structure across the country. We have invested ₺50 billion since the day we were established and we will continue to increase this investment day by day.”

TURKEY NEEDS FIBER

Expressing that the country needs more fiber investment, Erkan made the following statement: “Today, the total base stations of the three operators in Turkey are approximately 150 thousand, while the number of base stations in Tokyo is close to 1 million. When 5G arrives, the total number of base stations will be the minimum times 10. That will increase 10 times. There are roughly 25 million households in Turkey regarding fiber. If we want to bring fiber to all households, we must equip the last 250 meters with fiber, not copper. Turkey needs fiber, no matter how it is with a common infrastructure or individually. There is a basic rule in the world, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. I spent my years on fiber. In other words, if someone is going to talk about fiber, there is probably no more person than the finger of the hand who will talk better. The numbers are clear, this country needs to be more competitive, it needs to be digitalized more. Turkey’s fiber connection rate is 35-40% and this rate is insufficient.”

Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz

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