A Message From The CEO
Dear Shareholders,
“We felt the impact of global economic and political developments in the Turkish economy as well. An economic recession faced by its close trading partners, in particular the EU countries, civil war in Turkey’s neighboring countries and in the Middle East, along with financial instability across the world economy all challenged Turkey’s targeted growth. Two successive elections in Turkey, held within months of each other, also shifted the focus from the economy to politics.
While growth of 3.1% was not the Turkish economy’s initial target, the second quarter of the year saw 3.8% growth, a performance that ranked Turkey among the four fastest-growing economies in the G-20 and OECD countries and in Europe. Turkey’s performance in the second quarter also formed a basis for optimism in 2016. The 2016 growth target for the Turkish economy has been declared at 4.5%.
Despite challenges in 2015, Ülker Bisküvi improved its operating performance: Ülker increased its sales by 6% in 2015 and closed the year with a turnover of TL 3.1 billion. Ülker’s shareholding profit also increased by 23% over the same period, rising to TL 260 million from TL 212 million.
Our strategic actions also had a positive impact on our success:
• We aimed to maintain an affordable price range for our consumers during the 2015 period. • We kept our consumer relationships fresh, launching our new products while maintaining the quality and success of existing products.
• We implemented models that will increase efficiency and savings across our value chain. • We developed relevant partnerships with retail channels.
• We planned ahead and took fast action.
A Message From The CEO
• We reinforced our customers' longstanding trust in Ülker, thanks to the efforts of our employees who consistently strive for an outstanding performance.
The financial and operational successes we achieved by the end of the year indicate that Ülker has a solid foundation for sustainable and profitable growth despite the challenging conditions it has faced. Creating consistency across the value chain in order to achieve efficiency and our shared objectives is essential for sustaining this kind of growth.
Our efforts in product optimization at Biskot A.Ş. and operational excellence activities in our other companies have seen results in 2015.
In 2015, we also launched our sustainability efforts, initiated for the purpose of offering a better, happier world for the future.
We defined our principles of sustainability and our objectives for 2024, our 80th anniversary, under the theme of “This is Our World”. As of 2015, we have integrated our sustainability goals into the daily work processes of our employees, as well as our business strategies. We shared our principles of sustainability, our approach and our pledges with all our stakeholders in June.
Following our sustainability initiatives, the İstanbul Stock Exchange included Ülker Bisküvi in the BIST Sustainability Index. Investors worldwide survey the shares of those companies that practice responsible resource management, production and trading. Likewise, consumers prioritize the products and brands of producers that utilize their resources with a long-term approach.
In 2015, we introduced our campaign and our communication concept, “Happiness is Everywhere with Ülker” to our consumers; this concept will continue throughout 2016. Since our Company’s establishment, we have always based our relationships with our consumers within the framework of “happiness”.
In 2016, we will manage intangible assets, such as our human capital, our brand value and our reputation, and the power of innovation, at the highest level, and we will continue to generate maximum value for our corporate investors, our shareholders and the wider public.
As in previous years, I hereby express my gratitude to our shareholders, business partners, employees, and customers for their continual support and positive contributions to our company.
Regards,
Mehmet TÜTÜNCÜ
CEO
