Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. I am Maria, your Chorus Call operator. Welcome and thank you for joining the Koç Holding conference call and live webcast to present and discuss the second quarter 2023 financial results. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mrs. Janset Ayataç, IR Manager at Koç Holding. Mrs. Ayataç, you may now proceed.
Welcome and thank you for joining us today. This is İsmail, 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. 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'd like to hand over to Polat Şen to start the presentation. At the end of the presentation, we will have a Q&A session. Polat Şen?
Good evening, everyone. Welcome. I'll start with the presentation. On slide two, you can see today's agenda, and let's start with slide three with some key indicators for Koç Holding. I am proud to say that we had a solid first half year despite all the challenges. This year, global economic growth is expected to be lower than 2022, mainly due to the tight monetary policies, but still, growth will be around historical averages. Now, there is less concern for a global recession scenario. However, some of Turkey's main export markets will be affected by the slowdown in growth, especially in Europe. In terms of inflation, following a peak in 2022, global inflation is falling, mainly driven by lower food and energy prices. In Turkey, despite the devastating earthquakes in early February, real economic activity remained relatively resilient and predominantly supported with strong domestic demand.
As Koç Holding, we have a proven track record in successfully managing volatility, as you all know. Our resilience, strong financials, and intact fundamentals are the reflection of our diversified portfolio, agile management, and prudent risk policies. On the left, you can see the sectoral breakdown of our diversified business portfolio as of end of June. Here, the major change after the end of June is our lower effective ownership in Yapı Kredi Bank without loss of control, following the 6.81% share sale to foreign institutional shareholders via accelerated book building. As the transaction was closed on 28th of July, the finance segment's lower share and higher share of our net cash in our portfolio is not reflected here. On the right, you can see the revenue breakdown. Our portfolio diversification is not limited with 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 composition of our own revenues on a combined basis, in the first half of 2023, 30% 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. Moving to slide five, you can see the evolution of our net cash in the first half of this year. At the end of last year, we had a $74 million net cash position at holding level. So far this year, our dividend income was solid and amounted to approximately TRY 14.4 billion, excluding potential dividends for the remainder of the year from some of our companies as per our past year practices.
Considering our dividend income and other items such as management fees, operating and financial expenses, and currency conversion impact, our net cash position at the end of June 2023 has reached $395 million, including Yapı Kredi AT1 investment. Meanwhile, incorporating cash inflow from the 6.8% share sale of Yapı Kredi Bank via ABB in July, our net cash position becomes $645 million in total. On slide six, you can see the main pillars of our solid balance sheet. As you all know, prudent management has always been a key focus area in Koç Holding. As we have discussed, our net cash position at the end of June stood at $395 million, including Yapı Kredi AT1 investment. Around 98% of our $1.3 billion of gross cash is in hard currency.
At the holding standalone level, we like to keep some liquidity to serve as war chest against volatility as well as firepower in case of investment opportunities. In terms of funding at Koç level, the only debt we have is the EUR 750 million bond outstanding as of end of June. 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, and our net financial debt to EBITDA, excluding the finance segment, is at 0.5 times. In terms of FX, we remain well within our risk management rules. I am very happy to share that our prudent management approach was validated by a recent rating upgrade.
On June 6th, S&P has raised our long-term issued credit rating from B to B plus, applying a criteria exception that allowed us to be rated above transfer and convertibility assessment and Turkey's foreign currency sovereign credit rating. Accordingly, Koç Holding's ratings are B plus in S&P, one notch above Turkey's sovereign rating, and B3 at Moody's, which is flat to Turkish sovereign. 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 would like to hand over to Nursel to go through the other slides.
Thank you, Polat Bey. Now, I'll walk you through the sectoral developments in the first half of the year. I'll start with energy and Tüpraş on slide eight. The energy segment's contribution to Koç Holding's consolidated net income is solid in the first half thanks to strong domestic demand, above-average crack margins, even with quarter-on-quarter softness in mid-distillates, wider differentials, and easing energy costs despite lower capacity utilization. The domestic demand for refined products was strong in the first five months of the year. Jet fuel sales surged 23%, gasoline sales increased 24%, and diesel sales grew 5% year- on- year. In the first half, Tüpraş's domestic sales volume was up 4%, while international sales were down 22%, resulting in 2% lower total sales volume.
Looking at the refining margins, we see Med complex margin increasing to $28.3 per barrel from $27.1 per barrel in the first half of last year. Mid-distillate and gasoline margins remained below the previous year's levels, stemming from some softness in crack margins in the second quarter. Accordingly, in the first six months, Tüpraş's overall net refining margin amounted to $9.6 per barrel compared to $13 per barrel during the same period of last year, mainly due to weaker cracks and lower capacity utilization rates despite wider differentials and lower energy costs. Tüpraş's capacity utilization rate was around 77% in the first half, mainly due to maintenances. On the LPG side, consumption was strong, increasing 28% year- on- year in the first five months of the year.
Aygaz's domestic retail sales volume was up 30%, and including wholesale as well as contribution from Bangladesh, total sales volume growth was 46% in the first. Let's move to slide nine and discuss the developments in the auto segment. Our auto companies sustained their strong performance in the first six months of the year. The segment's contribution to consolidated net income was 32%. The main drivers of their stellar performance were robust domestic market performance, recovery in export markets, solid export contracts, OpEx control, and pricing discipline. In the first half, we witnessed a 55% surge in domestic auto sales, and our market share in the domestic market improved around one percentage point to 28% compared to the same period of previous year.
On the export side, the European PC market registered 18% growth, while the commercial vehicle market realized around a 14% increase, mainly due to last year's low base. Our group market share in the exports decreased 8 percentage points to 37%. In the first half, Ford Otosan export sales volume was 6% higher, while Tüpraş witnessed a 53% decrease in its export volumes due to the expiry of Doblo contract at 2022 year-end. Strong domestic sales, pricing discipline, as well as currency tailwinds supported total revenues of both Ford Otosan and Tüpraş. Export revenue growth was strong for Ford Otosan, including contribution of Craiova, while it was down at Tüpraş, mainly due to discontinuation of Doblo production for export markets, as I mentioned before.
TürkTraktör, our tractor company, enjoyed strong domestic sales in the first half, mainly due to subsidized agricultural loans at lower interest rates, and the company's export sales volume was also strong at 19% year- on- year growth. Otokar, our leading bus and defense company with superior R&D capabilities and prosperous products, realized 75% growth in revenues. The share of international revenues constitutes around 59% of total revenues at Otokar. On slide 10, let's look at the consumer durables segment. The segment performance was supported by balanced domestic revenues with currency tailwinds for international revenues, including strength of euro against dollar, as well as ease of raw material and transportation costs. However, soaring demand in main international markets and higher financial expenses were reflected on the bottom line. The Turkish built-ins unit sales increased 18% in the first half, while the export sales were weak and decreased 13%.
Looking at the retail figures, in the first half, domestic revenues increased 84% thanks to effective pricing and increase in unit sales. Similarly, international revenues, constituting 62% of total, increased 26% on the back of FX impact and inorganic growth, despite a 4% decrease in like-for-like sales. Retail managed to attain the key risk metrics at healthy levels. The company's working capital to sales ratio was 24.4%, and leverage stayed at comfortable levels with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of around two and a half times. Finally, let me also briefly talk about the finance segment and the developments at Yapı Kredi on slide 11. The segment was the largest contributor to consolidated net income in the first half, with 43% share.
According to BRSA Financials, Yapı Kredi Bank's net income increased 26% to TRY 24.1 billion in the first half, while the return on tangible equity was realized at 36.8%. Due to a challenging operating environment, Turkish lira loan yields were under pressure, and funding costs were in an increasing trend. Yapı Kredi managed to preserve its loan-to-deposit spread in positive territory. The bank recorded a substantial improvement in fee growth. The increase in operating costs was mainly due to HR business-related costs, also including inflation pass-through impact and also earthquake-related costs. In the first half, total performing cash loan growth was around 21%, and total customer deposits growth was 35% year to date. The bank's strategy to focus on small tickets in deposits continued, and the share of demand deposits in total customer deposits remained at a high level with 42%.
The net cumulative cost of risk, including currency hedge, was at 33 basis points, mainly due to strong collection performance, and conservative coverage levels were preserved, and the total coverage was 5.1% on a consolidated basis. In terms of liquidity, Yapı Kredi also remains comfortable, and the total liquidity coverage ratio of the bank stood at 161%. In terms of capital, Yapı Kredi continued to operate with around 500 basis points buffers on its capital ratios compared to regulatory requirements, mainly supported by internal capital generation. CAR and Tier 1 ratios stood at 17% and 15% by June end, respectively. Now, if we move to slide 12, I'll walk you through the overall results of the group in the first half of the year, incorporating all of the segment trends we just discussed.
On a combined basis, the Koç Group registered TRY 812 billion in revenue, TRY 83.7 billion in profit before tax, and TRY 70.7 billion in net income. Consolidated net income amounted to TRY 37.4 billion, with 69% year- on- year growth. Moving on to slide 13, you can see our second quarter-only results with a net income totaling TRY 20.6 billion, implying 33% year- on- year growth. On slide 15, I would like to briefly talk about some of our unlisted companies. I'll start with Otokoç, that makes the largest contribution to our NAV among the unlisted assets. Otokoç is Turkey's leading auto retailing and car leasing company and number one in second-hand sales.
The strong appetite for budget-friendly second-hand car vehicles in Turkey continued to be supportive for Otokoç, and as you may know, the company is Avis Budget Group's biggest licensee and its most important investment partner abroad. So, in the first half, Otokoç saw 141% year- on- year growth in total revenues, reaching TRY 36.4 billion and booked an EBITDA margin of around 19%. The book value more than doubled to TRY 13.6 billion in the first half, and this is almost more than double. Opet is the fuel distributor and has 19.7% market share in white products and 22.3% in black products as of end of May, thanks to its well-established dealer network. Opet operates with the goal of being the first choice of the consumer in the fuel distribution sector in Turkey through its expanding spatial network.
The operational performance was impacted by lower hydrology in the first half of the year, and in line with Entek's strategic transformation plan, the company aims to expand in the field of renewable energy, not only in Turkey but also abroad. Currently, around 75% of Entek's 442 megawatts total installed capacity is zero-carbon electricity. Token Financial Technologies is Turkey's leading payment system platform provider. The company incorporated a payment and electronic money company in 2020 and received a CBRT license in August 2022. Token pursues business development activities also abroad via the company it has established in the Netherlands and Romania. Bilkom is one of the leading distributors of information and communication technologies, distributing products of leading global brands to over 4,000 different points. The company's revenues increased 112% year- on- year to reach TRY 9.2 billion in the first half.
I would like to briefly talk about WAT Mobility, established by our group companies, namely WAT, Opet, Otokoç, and Entek. WAT Mobility, that company operates in the field of electric vehicle charging stations, and 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 BV. The company was established with the inspiration of the ventilator project, which fulfilled during the most challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Koç Medical owns Koç Yaşa Çok Yaşa, that set out with the idea of producing solutions for health needs with a blend of technology. This company recently purchased shares of Bıçakçılar, a medical device company providing disposable and therapy medical devices, as well as operating room solutions.
Now, I would like to leave the floor to Polat Bey for concluding remarks.
Thank you, Nursel. On slide 17, you will see the evolution of net asset value discounts. Our year-to-date weekly average NAV discount is approximately 30% compared to the long-term average discount of 10%-11%. As Koç Holding, we benefit from our market proxy status and observed our NAV discount narrowing down sharply in May this year, supported by sentiment and return of foreign investors. Unfortunately, considering approximately 90% of our NAV is composed of our listed assets, the share price performance of the majority of our listed companies recently is not reflected to 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 enhanced liquidity, better sentiment, as reflected by the decrease in Turkey's five-year CDS levels, and a higher share of foreign real investors in free float. 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. The recent announced transactions, such as 6.8% share sale of Yapı Kredi Bank shares via ABB and Tat Gıda share sale process, are a reflection of this. We will continue to create value with our leading practices in the fields of environmental, social, and governance.
Value creation, extending our global footprint, diversifying our businesses further, are always the key priorities for us. We have the potential to further diversify our positioning, both domestically and internationally, through our investments while sustaining an efficient level of liquidity. Thank you for listening. Now we can open the floor for questions.
We have a question from one of our webcast participants, Samarth Agrawal with Citi, and he has three questions. The first, he wanted to understand the rationale for partial stake sale in Yapı Kredi. Number two, similarly for Tat Gıda, any updates around timelines for sale would be useful, and do you also have further realizations in pipeline for other assets? And three, could you remind us, please, on the companies which are expected to pay dividends in the second half of 2023?
Thank you.
For the first question, for the Yapı Kredi sale, the main intention was to crystallize some portion of our investment in Yapı Kredi, and we have seen some foreigners' interest in our shares. Another reason was to increase the free float and the liquidity of the bank. Remember, we have acquired 18% additional stake in Yapı Kredi back in April 2022, with the consideration amount of $238 million at that time. You may see that the share amount is similar to the share sale of the both back shares. So we still continue to own the majority of the bank, and we continue to fully consolidate. We just have seen an opportunity to sell and materialize our profit on the shares that we bought 15 months ago. So that is the main rationale.
For Tat Gıda, your question, currently we have a very strong balance sheet, very strong cash position, but at the same time, we are always looking to actively manage our portfolio, and we have initiated this project or process regarding to look for possible strategic alternatives for Tat Gıda, and we are looking for, if there is a good opportunity, as a portfolio company, we should be open to evaluate those. The decision was mainly based on to see the alternatives there, but I have to say that also any asset could be a candidate for a disposal as long as the price is right. We are an investment holding company, and our job is to ensure effective capital deployment, and also we have to make sure that we are creating value for our shareholders.
So that is one of the reasons why we have gone through a strategic alternative-looking process for Tat Gıda. The third question is we want our companies to pay dividends, of course, as much as possible, but as of today, for the second half of the year, I think only Arçelik has some payment coming up, which is announced. The others are still looking at their cash position, and they haven't got any definite decision made for payment. So we will be waiting for their AGMs to get this decision. When the decision is done, I'm sure that you are going to be also getting the news. Thank you.
We have a question from our webcast participant, Hanzade Kılkıran with J.P. Morgan, and she says, "Polat Bey, Nursel, thank you very much for the presentation.
One, you have accumulated a significant amount of cash on the holding level post the sale of Yapı Kredi. How should we think about your capital allocation in the near term in terms of cash usage? Number two, and can you please comment on your plans in the healthcare sector after the recent acquisition, Bıçakçılar? Separately, is it also possible to provide an update on battery production plans in Ankara? When do you expect the investment to start, and do you expect an imminent cash outflow related to this project?
Hanzade Hanım, thank you very much. Surprising to see you on webcast rather than the call, but of course, I'm going to be answering your questions. Yes, we have a significant amount of cash at holding level, but I want to remind that also we have paid back our Eurobond in the beginning of this year, which is 750 million.
So the cash position of Koç Holding is very strong. But of course, we think that there may be opportunities in the market, and we need to be ready for any possible acquisitions in the future, and of course, we need to have some equity reserved for anything coming up, anything possible that is going to come up. So we think that the proceeds coming from Yapı Kredi sale is also going to be. There's no exact place that we have reserved this money for, but of course, the portfolio activity is always a focus area for us. So you can assume that these proceeds from this one or the other one in the future is going to be used in future businesses, and we have been active, as Nursel has explained.
We have just acquired a healthcare company, and this is an area that we have been looking for for some time. There may be some opportunities in the future, and we want to be ready when the time comes, but I have to underline that there is nothing right now, as of today, as a target for acquisition. We are just looking for opportunities. The second question was, should I change? Sorry. Healthcare sector. It was about, yeah, I found it. On the healthcare sector, as I just mentioned, actually, it's an important business area that we are looking for, especially after COVID-19, the efforts that we have done for ventilator. We have seen that our abilities, the R&D infrastructure that we have, is able to really do something in this area, and Bıçakçılar acquisition is going to be kind of a basis for this healthcare business.
We think that we are not talking about high-tech medical devices. Low to mid-tech medical devices are the first area that we have been looking for, and we think that this could be a very good basis to really grow this business with our extensive network that we have, and the third question was about battery production, and I can tell you that the MOU was signed between Ford Motor Company, LG Energy Solution, and Koç Holding, and we have been working on a contract signing and joint venture agreement for some time. We are approaching to the end of these efforts, hopefully. The teams are really working, and it's working through a positive direction, but I can tell that this is going to be a 25 gigawatt.
The first phase of this investment is going to be 25 gigawatt hours, and when you look at, I mean, in terms of CapEx, we cannot provide any figure, but we are still working on the business plan. But still, as a rule of thumb, considering the other battery cell investments worldwide, it would be fair to come up with a figure close to $2-2.5 billion CapEx in the first phase for the 25 gigawatt hours. So we have a minority. We are going to have a minority in this project, most probably. Therefore, we should be expecting to start spending money, I think, end of this year and start of next year. The first quarter of next year would be a better estimate, actually. Thank you.
There is a follow-up question from Ms. Kılkıran, and she would like to ask about Arçelik.
Has been heavily penalized in Q2 due to lack of TL funding availability. Following changes in CBRT and government intention to support exporters, have you started to or hope to observe some improvement in TL funding on Arçelik's side? Thank you.
I think Arçelik has most probably answered this question, will answer this question better, but what I can say is, of course, the depreciation in Turkish lira has helped all the exporters, and Arçelik is starting to enjoy it. The second thing is that, and the second issue is the parity between US dollar and euro. That is also a positive impact, which is 110 at this point. But in terms of TL funding on the central bank and government regulations, let me say, is still I don't see any easing for Arçelik. So there is still much to be done at this point, so that's not helping yet.
There are positives and negatives. Thank you.
The next webcast question is from Cenk Orkan with HSBC, and he would like to ask the following. We see slight quarter-on-quarter improvement in your solo net cash position. Is there a targeted level for YE 2023? After the YKB stake sale very recently, what are the possible major cash-generating and consuming items at parent level going forward?
What I can say is the first question is very much related to the dividends that we are going to be getting until the end of the year. As I told you, some of our companies are looking at their situation if there is a possibility to distribute some more dividends until the end of the year. So it's really hard to say, as of today, there is a targeted level because that's going to be their decision.
So after the Yapı Kredi sale, as I've just explained, actually, it's a pool that we have in terms of cash that we have today. Of course, we have been looking for, and we want to be more active in the possibilities of new investments. So we are looking for any targets that may really suit our strategic needs. So therefore, there is no active process that's going on as of today, but in terms of usage of this money, yes, of course, we have some strategic plans, and we are looking for opportunities. If we can really find the right target, we would like to have enough amount of equity in our balance sheet so that we can get this done quickly. So this is all I can say. Thank you.
There is a second question from Cenk Orkan, and he would like to ask, could you provide your domestic consumption outlook for the rest of 2023 and 2024? And would you expect a slowdown or a contraction for discretionary products and credit demand in 2024?
And Nursel is going to be answering that one.
Okay. Yeah. Consumer demand was very strong in the first half of this year, and actually, the growth figures were even better than our expectations for some sectors. And our companies, especially in auto and tractor consumer sectors, they revised their guidance upwards. Well, export performance was mixed, but looking at our company's 2023 guidance, it would be fair to say that the second half of the year is going to be slightly lower compared to the first half. But as I said, the first half turned out to be much better than initial expectations.
Regarding 2024, it's early to provide any guidance at this stage.
There is also a third question from the same participant, and he would like to ask the following. Have you observed any improvement in access to TRY liquidity after elections? Which group companies are impacted the most from tighter conditions, and how do they deal with it?
We have lots of companies, but I can say that some of them are impacted more. The ones who are in need of Turkish lira, like I just explained, Arçelik is one of them. So other than that, we do not have any heavily affected companies, maybe some smaller companies, but it is doable. The Turkish lira liquidity, the access to Turkish lira liquidity after elections is something that is starting to see some signs that is improving, but this still seems like not enough yet.
I'm sure that we are going to be hopefully seeing some more positive improvements in terms of Turkish lira liquidity, but at least seeing some positive movement is also a relief on our side. . Okay. Thank you.
The next question is from Kemal Külek with Perform Portföy, and he asks, we haven't heard any news about a big new tender from Otokar for a long time. What would you like to say about this topic?
Otokar's business is like that, first of all. I mean, it's not a contract business. Of course, the macroeconomic activity all over the world has also been affecting this situation, but what I can say about Otokar is it's a bus and defense company.
They are doing a lot of innovations and firsts in Turkey, mainly focusing on R&D, and they are very successful in a lot of regions, mainly Middle East, Gulf, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions. The company has subsidiaries in four countries: France, UAE, Romania, and Kazakhstan, and exports over 50 countries. So I think it would be fair to say that Otokar always focuses on improving its activities in export markets while with its existing R&D facilities and engineering capabilities. So I'm sure whenever we see some contracts won, you're going to see the effect, and they are working on a lot of projects while we're speaking. Thank you.
The next question is a follow-up question from Samarth Agrawal with Citi, and he asks, what are the IRR targets you look at for new investments, and which sectors are currently looking for new investment opportunities?
We generally target mid-teens in USP terms, and that may also, of course, differ from sector to sector or country to country. And I've already answered the new investment opportunity sectors, which is healthcare, renewable energy, that kind of areas, but we are not limited to those only. We are looking at lots of areas. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. I'll now turn the conference back over to management for any closing comments. Thank you.
All right. I would like to thank everybody who has joined the call. I hope that was explanatory enough, and I also hope and expect our great performance to continue until the end of this year as well. And if you have any more detailed questions, our IR team is always at your service. Please feel free to contact them. Thank you very much.