Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. I'm Konstantinos, your conference call operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the Koç Holding conference call and live webcast to present and discuss the Q4 2023 financial results. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Cansev Atak, IR Manager at Koç Holding. Ms. Atak, you may now proceed.
Welcome, and thank you for joining us This is Cansev Atak, ir Manager of Koç Holding. I have here with me our CFO, Polat Şen, IR Coordinator, Nursel, our Finance Coordinator, Özge, and our IR Manager, İsmail, to go over the presentation and answer your questions during the Q&A session. Our presentation on 2023 year-end financial results contains the company's audited financial information prepared according to Turkish accounting financial reporting standards by application of IAS 29 inflation accounting. In addition to these, to enable investors and analysts to conduct a full-fledged analysis, supplementary historical information for selected key performance indicators that contains unaudited financial information prepared for management reporting purposes were provided. I'd like to note that our presentation and the Q&A session might contain forward-looking statements and assumptions based on our business environment as we see it today, and they might be subject to change.
Please remember, you can access the replay of the webcast on our website after the call. Now, I would like to hand over to Polat Şen to start the presentation. At the end of the presentation, we'll have a Q&A session. Polat Şen?
All right. Welcome, everyone. I'll start with slide five. It's some key indicators for Koç Holding. I'm extremely happy to share that we have left behind a year when we achieved a very successful financial performance despite all the challenges. As Koç Holding, we have proven track record in successfully managing low volatility. Our resilience, solid financials, and intact fundamentals are the reflection of our diversified portfolio structure, prudent management, and sound business strategies. On the left, you can see the sectoral breakdown of our portfolio as of end of December. On the right, you can see the revenue breakdown. Our portfolio diversification is not limited to sectors but also includes international positioning. We are the largest exporting group in Turkey, with our exports accounting for around 7% of Turkey's total exports.
In terms of the composition of our revenues on a combined basis in 2023, 29% is coming from international sales. If we also include Tüpraş, which is an FX-linked commodity business, approximately 50% of our revenues can be considered in hard currency. On slide six, you can see our dividend income and payments in nominal terms. In 2023, our dividend income amounted to approximately 24 billion Turkish lira, which is approximately $1 billion, including dividends from our unlisted companies as well. Note that most of our dividend income is derived from the companies with FX or FX-linked revenues. As of today, all our listed companies announced their 2023 financial results, and we are pleased to see their strong financial performance in another challenging year. Moving on to slide seven, you can see the evolution of our net cash.
At the end of 2022, we had $74 million net cash position at the holding level. In 2023, our dividend income was solid and amounted to approximately TRY 24 billion. Considering our dividend income, other items such as management fees and operating financial expenses and currency conversion impact, as well as the proceeds from the 6.81% share sale of Yapı Kredi Bank to foreign institutional shareholders, our net cash position at the end of December reached $795 million, including Yapı Kredi AT1 investment. Please note that we received proceeds of Yapı Kredi AT1 in January this year, totaling $213 million, which is already included in our 2023 year-end net cash calculation. As a separate note, in February 2024, we received proceeds from the sale of 43.65% of Tat Gıda shares, totaling TRY 2.2 billion, which is not included in our 2023 year-end net cash calculation.
As we have discussed, our net cash position as of the end of December stood at $795 million, including Yapı Kredi AT1 investment. Note that Yapı Kredi called the AT1 in January this year, and it's included in our gross cash now. Around 96% of our $1.3 billion gross cash is in hard currency. At the holding standalone level, we like to keep some liquidity to serve as a war chest against volatility as well as firepower in case of investment opportunities. In terms of our funding at Koç Holding level, the only debt we have is the $750 million Eurobond, which is due in March 2024. We strictly apply and regularly monitor our prudent risk management policies at each underlying company on a combined basis. In terms of liquidity, leverage, and foreign exchange position, we preserved and even improved our conservative levels.
On a combined basis, our current ratio is 1.3 times, and our net financial debt to EBITDA, excluding the finance segment, is around 0.2 times. In terms of FX, we remain well within our risk management rules. I'm very happy to share that our prudent management approach was validated by a recent rating upgrade as well. On January 19, Moody's raised our corporate rating from B3 to B2. Accordingly, Koç Holding's ratings are BB minus by S&P, two notches above Turkey's sovereign rating, and B2 at Moody's, one notch above Turkey's sovereign rating. As the largest investment holding company in Turkey and being active in diversified sectors, we manage our balance sheet to ensure that we always remain resilient against market volatility. Now, I'd like to hand over to Nursel to go through the numbers in detail. Nursel?
Thank you, Polat Şen . Hello, everyone. I'll start with the sectoral developments in 2023. Let's start with energy and Tüpraş on slide 11. The energy segment's contribution to Koç Holding's consolidated net income is solid in 2023 with 36% share in our consolidated net income, thanks to about historic average crack margins, wider differentials, lower energy costs, and strong domestic demand, despite extensive maintenances in the first half of the year. The domestic demand for refined products was strong. Gas fuel sales surged 17%, gasoline sales increased 24%, and diesel sales grew 6% year-on-year. In 2023, Tüpraş's domestic and international sales volume was up 2% and 5% respectively, resulting in 2% year-on-year higher total sales volume.
Looking at the refining margins, Tüpraş's overall net refining margin amounted to $16 per barrel, driven by strong Cracks, wider differentials, and lower energy costs, despite weaker utilization in the first half of the year. The capacity utilization was around 87% in 2023, mainly due to the maintenances. On the LPG side, consumption was strong, increasing 14%, with auto gas growing 14% and cylinder 1%. Aygaz domestic retail sales volume was up 13%, and including wholesale as well as contribution from Bangladesh, total sales volume growth was 15% year-on-year in 2023. Let's move to slide 12 and discuss the developments in the auto segment. Our auto companies sustained a robust performance, and the auto segment was the largest contributor to consolidated net income, with a 49% share in 2023.
The main drivers of this performance were the all-time high domestic auto market, recovery in export markets, solid export contracts, OpEx control, and pricing discipline. In 2023, we witnessed a 55% surge in domestic auto sales, reaching a record high of 1.28 million units. Our market share in the domestic market decreased around 4 percentage points to 25% compared to the previous year. On the export side, the European passenger car market grew 14%, and the light and medium commercial vehicle market realized 16% growth. Our group market share in the exports decreased 7 percentage points to 37%. In 2023, Ford Otosan's export sales volume was 26% higher year-on-year, primarily supported by the volumes from Craiova plant. Tofaş, on the other hand, witnessed a 50% decrease in its export volumes due to the expiry of Doblo contracts at 2022 year-end.
Strong domestic sales, pricing discipline, as well as currency tailwinds supported total revenues of both Ford Otosan and Tofaş. And export revenue growth was strong for Ford Otosan, including the contribution of Craiova, while it was down at Tofaş, mainly due to discontinuation of Doblo production for export markets. Türk Traktör enjoyed all-time high domestic tractor market and strong domestic sales, mainly due to subsidized agricultural loans at low interest rates. Otokar, a leading bus and defense company with superior R&D capabilities and proprietary products, enjoyed new export contracts. Accordingly, the share of in ternational revenues constituted around 73% of total revenues in 2023.
On slide 13, let's look at the consumer durable segment. Consumer durable segment's performance was supported by stellar Turkey revenues as well as ease raw material costs, while softness in demand in main international markets was reflected on financials.
Turkish white goods unit sales increased 14% year-on-year in 2023, while the export sales were weak and decreased 10%. Looking at Arçelik figures, Turkey revenues increased 23% thanks to effective pricing and a 12% increase in unit sales. On the other hand, international revenues, constituting 63% of the total revenue, decreased 10%, mainly due to a decrease in like-for-like sales. Arçelik managed to attain the key risk metrics at healthy levels, and the company's working capital to sales ratio was 24.2%. Leverage stayed at comfortable levels, with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.7 times, almost unchanged compared to 2022 year-end. Finally, let me also briefly talk about the finance segment and the developments at Yapı Kredi on slide 14. The finance segment share to consolidated net income was 14% in 2023.
Please note that in our consolidated financials, we used Yapı Kredi's inflation-adjusted financials, which is affected by monetary loss due to the net monetary position of the bank. As a separate note, Yapı Kredi's contribution to finance segment results may differ from the bank's IFRS results, mainly due to purchase price allocation adjustments regarding Koç Holding's additional share purchase transaction in February 2020. Here, when providing the main KPIs of the bank, I would like to switch to BRSA financials, as banks are exempt from inflation accounting for 2023. So last year, total performing cash loan growth was around 52%, and total customer deposit growth was 55%. The bank's strategy to focus on small tickets in deposits continued, and the share of demand deposits in total customer deposits became 42%.
Net fees and commissions reached at a significant 142% growth year-on-year, while cost growth was 106% year-on-year.
Net cumulative cost of risk, including currency hedge, was at 14 basis points, mainly due to robust collection performance. Conservative coverage levels were preserved, and the total coverage was 4.4% on a consolidated basis. Yapı Kredi remains comfortable in terms of liquidity. Total liquidity coverage ratio of the bank stood at 160% as of end of December. In terms of capital, Yapı Kredi continued to operate with around 575 basis points buffered on its capital ratios compared to regulatory requirements. CAR and Tier 1 ratios stood at 16.9% and 15.3% by year-end, respectively. So if we move to slide 15, I'll walk you through the overall result of the group in 2023, incorporating all of the segment trends we just discussed. Please note that all figures in this slide are inflation-adjusted due to the application of inflation accounting.
Accordingly, on a combined basis, Koç Group registered 206 billion TRY in profit before tax and 166 billion TRY in net income. Consolidated net income was sluggish year-on-year and amounted to 72.2 billion TRY. As a separate note, on slide 22, you may find our financial performance without the application of IAS 29. Now, on slide 17, I would like to briefly talk about some of our unlisted companies as their performance in 2023 is worth discussing. I'll start with Otokoç , which makes the largest contribution to our NAV among the unlisted assets. It is Turkey's leading automotive retailing and car leasing company and number one in second-hand car sales, with operations in eight countries abroad. The company is Avis Budget Group's biggest licensee and its most important investment partner abroad. On this slide, you can see the book values of our unlisted companies.
I'll continue with Opet, and Opet operates with the goal of being the first choice of the consumer in the fuel distribution sector in Turkey through its expanding station network. In line with Tüpraş's strategic transformation plan, Entek aims to expand in the field of renewable energy, not only in Turkey but also abroad. Currently, around 77% of Entek's 492 megawatt total installed capacity is zero-carbon electricity. Token Financial Technologies is Turkey's leading payment system platform provider. Token also pursues business development activities abroad. I would like to also talk about WAT Mobility, established by our group companies, namely WAT, Opet, Otokoç , and Entek. This company operates in the field of electric vehicle charging stations. The company has a target of rapid expansion throughout Turkey in terms of charging stations, which are of critical importance for electric vehicles.
Finally, another unlisted company wholly owned by Koç Holding is Koç Medical. The company was established with the inspiration of the ventilator project we fulfilled during the most challenging period of the pandemic. Koç Yaşa Çok Yaşa, that set out with the idea of producing solutions for health needs with a blend of technology. And Koç Medical also owns Bıçakçılar, a medical device company providing disposable and therapy medical devices, as well as operating room solutions. These two companies were merged at the end of last year. Now, I would like to leave the floor to Polat Şen for concluding remarks. Polat Şen .
Thank you, Nursel. On slide 19, you'll see the evolution of our net asset value discount. Our weekly average of NAV discount in 2023 was approximately around 31% compared to the long-term average discount of 12%. As Koç Holding, we benefit from our market proxy status, and we observed our NAV discount narrowing down when supported by sentiment and return of foreign investors. Considering approximately 90% of our NAV is composed of our listed assets, the share price performance of most of our listed companies recently is not wholly reflected in Koç Holding's share price. Besides, the intrinsic value of our unlisted companies is much higher compared to their book values, which is obvious in an inflationary environment. As discussed previously, Koç Holding's current discount level does not reflect its solid fundamentals, and we observe a deeply disconnected valuation.
We hope to converge back to our historical NAV discount levels with better sentiment, as reflected by the decrease in Turkey's five-year CDS levels and higher share of foreign investors. In summary, our balance sheet is strong with a solid net cash position and potential cash inflow going forward, and our portfolio structure and diversification ensures resilience against volatility. As the leading investment holding company in Turkey, we are focusing on managing our portfolio dynamically. In terms of acquisition, as part of Koç Holding's evaluations on growth opportunities in the healthcare industry, we decided to purchase shares of Kemer Medical Center, a company operating in the private hospital sector under the Anatolia Hospital brand in Antalya. Accordingly, a share sale and purchase agreement has been signed for 80% of KMC's share capital.
As we have disclosed to the public, the purchase price shall be determined based on an enterprise value of EUR 110 million, which will be subject to net debt and working capital adjustments. In terms of divestment, a key strategic decision has been executed regarding Koç Holding's portfolio with the sale of our shares at our subsidiary, Tat Gıda. At Koç Holding, we received $72 million as net proceeds for our 43.65% stake at Tat Gıda. We believe, in line with our approach of achieving growth by creating value and benefit for all stakeholders, we will continue to focus on value-accretive projects in Koç Holding via active portfolio management, and we will continue to create value for our country with our leading practices in the fields of environmental, social, and governance.
We have the potential to further diversify our positioning both domestically and internationally through our investments while sustaining an efficient level of liquidity. So I'd like to thank you all for listening. So now we can open the floor for questions.
The first question is from Evgenia Bystrova with Barclays. Please go ahead.
Hello. Good afternoon. Thank you very much for the presentation and congrats on strong results. I was wondering, what are your plans regarding the upcoming maturity of the Eurobond in 2025? Could you share any plans? Thank you.
All right. Thank you very much. As you have pointed out, our Eurobond is around $750 million, and it will mature in March 2025. As you know, we have a strong cash position today, and we do not really have any considerations in terms of coming to the market now. So we would like to stay put a bit more to follow the market conditions. If we really see the right window of opportunity, which would be good for Koç Holding, we may take action. Otherwise, as of today, we have no plans, which is clearly stated as of today, for reissues of Eurobond. So I think that you are going to be hearing about this maybe in quarter three. That would be a better timing to answer this question.
Perfect. Thank you.
Thank you.
There are no further audio questions at this time, and we will now move to our webcast questions. The first webcast question comes from Samarth Agrawal with Citi, and I quote, "Thanks for the quick presentation. A few questions." So first question, on macro, particularly the recent rating upgrade for Turkey. Wanted to understand your thoughts on the current macroeconomic landscape and the expected pace of normalization. And a related question, what are the implications for credit rating at Koç Holding and impact on cost of financing? That's the first question.
All right. I'd like to answer one by one. So the new economy management led by Mr. Mehmet Şimşek advocates a return to orthodox rational policies, as we all know. They have undertaken substantial measures in transitioning towards conventional economic policies. We have much more visibility compared to almost a year ago, but the beneficial outcomes of these actions are yet to come. We see gradual normalization since June last year. In line with the market, we expect around 40%-45% inflation by the end of 2024 on the condition that conventional economic policies remain. The monetary tightening still continues, and it seems like after the elections, we are going to see more effect on that, which may result in some demand contraction in the domestic market.
So this inflation looks like it's going to take some more time, but it seems like it's a tough target to achieve, and there's no room for error. But so far, I have to say that the precautions which is taken look correct to us. So we can move on to the second. Maybe I will move on. Sorry, I missed the last part of the question. I understand this normalization phase is going to take time. It's like we expected, I have to say. And in terms of credit rating, we already have an upgrade in Moody's. And if things continue in the right direction, most probably we are going to see more of those throughout this process.
As of today, you can see, I mean, the impact on cost of financing for Turkish corporates compared to three months ago or six months ago, we already see the positive effects. If the policies continue to go like that, I would expect better cost of financing throughout the end of the year. Let's move on to the second question.
Second question, and I quote, "What are your thoughts around domestic demand outlook for 2024, particularly against backdrop of, A, strong 2023 base effects for 2023 versus B, slowing inflation expectations?
Yes. In 2023, the consumer demand was very strong in Turkey. The growth figures were even better than our expectations for some sectors in our companies, especially in the auto and consumer durable sectors, where we have revised our guidances upwards. In 2023, we saw all-time high car sales in Turkey with almost 1.3 million car sales, which is 55% year-on-year higher than 2022, and then for the tractor market, we see the same, actually, very high level of sales. White goods also enjoyed around 14% year-on-year growth in Turkey. This year, the pace of economic growth is expected to decelerate due to mainly this monetary tightening, which is going to be resulting in rising loan and deposit rates, as well as some restrictions on individual loan growth. There is a possibility that vehicle purchases related to preserving value may choose other investment options.
Still, it is not anticipated that there will be a sudden halt or significant downturn. In 2024, guidance of our companies reflects different dynamics for sectors, and they expect some normalization this year. Yet we had a very strong start to the year as well. In the first two months of 2024, domestic auto market already grew by almost 40% year-on-year. That is ahead of our initial expectations. And for the tractor market, the realization was 2% plus, despite the higher loan rates. On the domestic white goods, sales was around 22% year-on-year higher in January 2024. So looking at the guidance of our underlying companies, you can see that the announced flattish or decrease in the domestic market. We will be following the developments very closely, and if needed, our companies will be updating their guidances as well.
Moving on, and I quote again, "Could you provide an update around your current investment pipeline?
We have a solid net cash position at the holding level, so there may be opportunities in the market, and we need to be ready for any possible acquisition in the future. We have been very active in portfolio activity this year. Healthcare is an area that we have been looking for some time. This year, we have acquired two companies, Bıçakçılar and Anatolia Hospitals. There may be some more opportunities in the future, so we want to be ready when the time comes. So our appetite is still there, but there's nothing concrete at this stage that I can share with you today. Currently, we have a very strong balance sheet and very strong cash position. So for all of our companies, I always say that this is a portfolio company.
As long as there is the right offer or fair buyer for any of our assets, we should be considering, but as of today, there's nothing like that, and we are actively managing our portfolio, and we will keep on doing like that, and we are strategizing, restrategizing our options in all of the sectors that we are working in right now, so any asset could be a candidate for disposal, and also any asset could be a target for us as of today. When the time comes, if there's anything concrete, we will always share with the market along with the expectations.
Thank you. And I continue to quote, "And following the divestment of Tat Gıda, do you have further realizations in pipeline or for other assets?
Yeah. I've already answered this question in my previous answer, so we can move on.
Okay. Thank you. What are your thoughts around dividend income outlook for 2024? Do you expect 2023 dividend levels to be sustainable?
We provided the dividend that we received from our underlying companies in 2023 is around $1 billion. So far this year, we have already started seeing announcements from our companies as they are taking board decisions what to recommend to their respective general assembly for dividend distribution. Our companies have not had their general assemblies yet, so they did not take any decisions on dividends. But still, you can calculate how much dividends we'll be receiving from our listed group companies in April this year. The number that you can calculate does not include the potential dividends from the remainder of the year. We cannot give a guidance regarding how much we are expecting for the remainder of the year, but I would say that you may expect a higher figure than what we have received so far. We like our companies to pay down dividends as much as possible.
We don't like them to sit on excess cash. But at the same time, we always want to have solidity of underlying companies' balance sheets. But at the end of the day, we should also consider that this is the decision of the general assembly. So we are going to be waiting to see what we are going to get as a dividend.
Thank you. And lastly, I wanted to understand if there are any renewed efforts to resume the battery project. Thank you.
Considering the current pace of, as we disclosed to the public, actually, Ford, LG, and LG Electronics and Koç Holding mutually dissolved the existing non-binding three-way MOU. The main reason is the current pace of electric vehicle adoption and the timing not viewed appropriate for battery cell investment as there are excess capacity in the battery production globally. So it's always important to have a feasibility, as you know. We should make sure that if we make an investment, it has to be paying back. So all parties collectively have decided that this is not the right timing considering the global capacity. So therefore, but this is a postponement according to us. At some point of time, we are going to reconsider again, but it is quite early to make this reconsideration on that.
We are going to see how the market is going to move on electrification and also the technologies changing at the same time. I'm sure that you are following up global automotive manufacturers as well. Tesla has been cutting its prices since the beginning of the year in order to reach their sales targets, almost up to 20% discount on some of their versions. GM and Honda have canceled their planned $5 billion project jointly to produce low-cost EVs. Again, GM has postponed a production plan for electric pickup models by almost one year. Volkswagen also canceled its planned $2 billion factory project for EV production in Germany. This is not something only for our company. This is a global movement, and we cannot just close our eyes to what's happening in the world.
Mainly, we should make sure that if we make an investment, it should be paying back. So this is why we are going to for sure revisit this. But I think maybe through the end of this year, we are going to look at this once again and see when the right timing is going to come. Thank you.
Thank you. One follow-up, if I may. Any particular drivers leading to lower market share in passenger and light commercial vehicles versus first half 2023? Thank you.
Sorry.
Would you like me to repeat the question?
Yes, please. I missed it.
Okay. So any particular drivers leading to lower market share in passenger and light commercial vehicles versus first half 2023?
Okay. The domestic demand was extremely strong, and we saw the share of our other car manufacturers together with imports increasing. That's what I can say right now.
Thank you. And one more follow-up. What, in your view, would be the key catalysts to narrow the current NAV discount?
Okay. As I have tried to explain in my closing remarks, we see that when we look at Koç Holding's NAV discount in a historical perspective, we see that when the CDS levels are lower, plus the foreign investor interest is high in Turkey, we see that as a proxy to the Turkish economy, Koç Holding's NAV discount starts to narrow down. So this is going to be. I mean, we see macro indicators are more relevant in terms of narrowing down NAV discount other than some internal stuff that we can do by ourselves. So I mean, we have seen very high CDS levels in the last one year. There is some foreign interest in Turkey, which we hope will continue.
And as I tried to explain in one of the questions, if the economic policies are going to be resulting positively as we expected, most probably we are going to see a better NAV discount or narrower NAV discount than what it is today. Because we think that the NAV discount of Koç Holding is not really representing the correct real valuation of Koç Holding as of today.
Thank you. Next, the webcast question comes from Ebru Göktan with Istanbul Portfolio, and I quote, "In terms of the 2024 outlook, what are your expectations on a sector-to-sector basis, or which sectors/companies do you foresee to stand out more and why?" Thank you.
All of our companies, the listed ones, already disclosed their guidance for 2024, and you can see on page 23 of our presentation. We provide them. The year has started with very strong, I mean, stronger than we expected domestic demand, and we expect recovery in exports this year as well, but in terms of sectors, I can say that especially the automotive industry, through the end of the year, most probably there will be a contraction in the overall market, but we are planning to, I mean, we want to win some more market share in order to offset the effects of market contraction in our companies. On consumer durables, it's less elastic to the demand is, we think that it's going to be there still. We do not really expect a contraction there.
The energy sector, it's mainly due to the global factors that are more effective, especially on our refinery business. The demand on oil and gas is not really very much affected due to macroeconomic factors, and that's why we do not expect a huge effect on our financials. It seems like banking is going to have a tough year as the regulatory environment is still very hard and very tough. The situation with the macroeconomic conditions are going to be affecting the banking sectors, not only our bank. The banking sector's profitability and also their ability to be able to fund the market. As you can see right now, the regulations are really limiting them to be able to issue some more loans to the market.
So if this continues until the end of the year, of course, they are going to be affected. But again, I mean, considering only our bank credit, we think that we are very well positioned in terms of creating profitability. We have been investing a lot, especially on the consumer side of the business. So even though there will be an effect, we think that we are going to be affected less than the sector itself.
Thank you. The next webcast question comes from Ferruh Erim with Ata Portfolio, and I quote, "What is the ROIC and ROE ratio you are looking for in new investments? Which sectors might you'd like to enter and grow?
We use risk-adjusted cost of capital to evaluate our investment opportunities. Just to give you some color, this is around mid-teens in dollar terms. But of course, this can go up or down depending on the sector or company, even depending on the country that we are investing. So there's not one number that I can share with you, but this is a dynamically managed metric for us.
Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the conference over to management for any closing comments. Thank you.
All right. Thank you very much. It was a pleasure for me to share our very, very strong results for 2023. If there are some more questions, our IR team is always ready to answer. Just drop an email to them. Thank you very much once again. Good evening.