Tofas, a car making joint venture between Fiat and Koc Holding, has reported a jump in first quarter net profit thanks in part to income from interest payments, according to Reuters.
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Tofas, which produces cars for the domestic and export market, said on Tuesday net profit rose 115% to 25.80m lira ($US18m), according to the report.
Sales rose a more modest 13% to 605.05m lira, while gross operating profit rose 18% to 59.96m. But a 90% rise in interest income boosted the bottom line.
EFG Istanbul analyst Osman Memisoglu attributed the rise to better than expected results and a 5% fall in the stock price on Monday amid a wider market sell-off, according to Reuters.
“The company’s profit, with financial income and the impact of tax came in better than we expected … Better-than-expected results could be supporting buying,” he said.
According to Reuters, the firm, whose models include the Punto and Doblo, said it produced 37,451 vehicles in the first quarter, up 5% from the same period last year, while vehicle sales by volume rose 12% year-on-year.
