Rahmi M. Koç: “Memories of the lives lost, and the suffering endured by the rest of us, will weigh heavily on our hearts”
In his statement in the Annual Report, Koç Holding Honorary Chair Rahmi M. Koç said he wishes mercy from God to those who lost their lives and bestow patience and fortitude on their relatives and our nation, adding: “Memories of the lives lost, and the suffering endured by the rest of us, will weigh heavily on our hearts.” Rahmi M. Koç continued: “We are confident that our nation’s profound wisdom and tremendous strength will heal these wounds in the fullness of time. I want to take this opportunity to commend the search and rescue teams of 531 well-trained and equipped Koç Group employees, who immediately volunteered to go to the region: remarkably, they were able to rescue 117 individuals from under the rubble. We have allocated considerable funds for the recovery of the area, and have initiated both short- and long-term projects for its regeneration.”
Koç said: “At the Koç Group, we have continued to create value for our country during this challenging period with our robust financial standing, diversified portfolio, extensive supply-chain, and exemplary environmental, social, and corporate governance practices – all backed by our effective risk management policies. As a testament to our confidence in, and commitment to our country, the Group has undertaken around TL 86 billion (USD 9.3 billion) of investments over the last five years, with TL 40.5 billion (USD 2.4 billion) invested in 2022 alone.”
Ömer M. Koç: “Koç Group founder Vehbi Koç once said ‘I live and prosper with my country.’ Having committed itself to that principle for 97 years, the Koç Group will continue to fulfill its responsibilities to the country, deploying every means at its disposal to help the nation heal from this terrible disaster and recover more readily.”
Speaking on the earthquake disaster, Koç Holding Chair of the Board of Directors Ömer M. Koç said: “Marshalling all its resources, Koç Group companies sent its well-equipped and highly-trained search-and-rescue teams to the stricken region immediately after the disaster to alleviate survivors’ suffering.’’ His statement continued as follows: “Urgently needed materials and essential services reached afflicted areas as of the very first day, thanks in large part to close cooperation with all stakeholders through a Koç Holding crisis management center. There is still much to be done to lessen the material and spiritual losses sustained in so great a tragedy, but this can be accomplished through unity and solidarity. Koç Group founder Vehbi Koç once said ‘I live and prosper with my country.’ Having committed itself to that principle for 97 years, the Koç Group will continue to fulfill its responsibilities to the country, deploying every means at its disposal to help the nation heal from this terrible disaster and recover more readily.”
Ömer M. Koç: ‘’Our most vital task in the second century of the Turkish Republic is to strive even more fervently to follow a path forged by reason and science. We have been doing this for an entire century at the Koç Group. And we will continue to do better together.”
Underlining that despite all these difficulties, the Koç Group has successfully completed 2022 with strong financial results thanks to its prudent management approach, Ömer M. Koç said: “Our new corporate competencies which we developed through decisively implemented transformation programs have played a significant role in this success. In line with our strategic vision, we continued to grow in Turkey and abroad during 2022. Arçelik acquired the production and distribution rights for Whirlpool in Russia and started work on establishing new factories in Bangladesh and Egypt. We moved our production operations abroad in one of our joint ventures for the first time, with Ford Otosan’s acquisition of the Ford factory in Romania. Our most substantial investment in Turkey was to complete the acquisition of an additional 18% stake in Yapı Kredi from UniCredit last year.”
Ömer M. Koç stated: “Our most vital task in the second century of the Turkish Republic is to strive even more fervently to follow a path forged by reason and science. We have been doing this for an entire century at the Koç Group. And we will continue to do better together by firmly adhering to the enduring values of our company which we have inherited.”
Levent Çakıroğlu: ‘’We will continue to take part in the recovery of our nation, through projects focusing on priorities like building temporary living quarters, providing health and education services, and supporting children who survived the disaster.”
In his statement in the Annual Report, Koç Holding CEO Levent Çakıroğlu said: “We are devastated beyond words by the catastrophic earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023. We are mourning tens of thousands of our fellow citizens who lost their lives, together with 12 colleagues from our companies, 5 dealers and 32 dealership employees.’’ Çakıroğlu remarked as follows: ‘’Working in conjunction with government agencies and organizations, we quickly mobilized all of our resources to address the most urgent requirements for shelter, food, healthcare, and logistics. In the areas identified by the Government, we will create temporary living quarters consisting of 5 thousand containers, housing nearly 20 thousand people, including social amenities. We will continue to take part in the recovery of our nation, through projects focusing on priorities like building temporary living quarters, providing health and education services, and supporting children who survived the disaster.”
Levent Çakıroğlu: ‘’The true source of the success we have achieved, in the midst of ongoing uncertainties over the years, is our resolute commitment and effectiveness in transforming our business practices.”
Levent Çakıroğlu said: “Even in such an uncertain environment, we completed 2022 with a quite successful performance, thanks to our strong balance sheet, diversified portfolio, prudent management, and sound business strategies,” adding: “Yet again, were we able to take pride in being our country’s only representative in the Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world’s biggest corporations. The true source of the success we have achieved, in the midst of ongoing uncertainties over the years, is our resolute commitment and effectiveness in transforming our business practices. I believe, this success has been largely facilitated by improved efficiency brought about by the digital competencies we have acquired, smart factories, agile management teams, mind shift in resource allocation, mechanisms and practices for data-driven decision-making, and -most importantly- by our unmatched colleagues who are equipped with necessary skills and means of future and whose loyalty grows stronger every day.”
Koç Holding’s new Board of Directors has been determined
The Board of Directors elected at the 59th Ordinary General Assembly Meeting of Koç Holding is composed of the individuals named below:
Rahmi M. Koç - Honorary Chair
Ömer M. Koç – Chair
Ali Y. Koç - Vice Chair
Semahat S. Arsel – Member
Caroline N. Koç - Member
İpek Kıraç - Member
Levent Çakıroğlu - Member and CEO
Jacques A. Nasser - Member
Emily K. Rafferty - Independent Member
Dr. Cem M. Kozlu - Independent Member
Peter Martyr - Independent Member
Michel Ray de Carvalho - Independent Member
KOÇ HOLDING AND THE KOÇ GROUP IN 2022
- Koç Holding is the only Turkish company to be listed among the “World’s Largest 500 Companies” by Fortune. In addition, Koç Holding was once again ranked as Turkey’s number one in the “World’s Best Employers” list published by Forbes in 2022.
- In 2022, Koç Holding’s combined revenues reached to TL 1,406 billion.
- Expanding our global presence, creating strong brands, generating ever more value for our customers and improving our human resources continued to shape our investments. The Koç Group’s total combined investments reached TL 86 billion over the last 5 years including TL 40.5 billion investments in 2022. The highest amount of investments was made in the automotive sector, followed by the consumer durables and energy sectors in 2022.
- R&D, innovation, technology and digital transformation remained among our main focus areas. Investing nearly TL 6.8 billion in R&D in 2022, the Koç Group accounted for approximately 7% of the total private sector R&D investments undertaken in Turkey.
- As of 31 December 2022, Koç Holding and our publicly traded companies at Borsa İstanbul 100 index (BIST 100) accounted for 19% of the total market capitalization of the companies listed on BIST 100.
- Our combined revenues correspond to around 9% of Turkey’s GDP and our exports account for around 7% of Turkey’s total exports.
- The Koç Group’s international revenues stood at USD 24 billion, supported in particular by our automotive and consumer durables companies, contributing 30% to the Group’s total combined revenues. Foreign currency and foreign currency linked revenues, including Tüpraş, made up 55% of total combined revenues
The highlights of the Koç Holding 2022 Annual Report that tackled the Koç Group’s sustainability priorities and associated performance in detail are as follows:
- With the Carbon Transition Program Koç Holding initiated as a part its carbon neutrality goal towards 2050, the company aims to ensure the transition to a low carbon economy for its Group companies operating in different sectors.
- This year, in addition to the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and World Economic Forum Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics that it supports, Koç Holding became a signatory of the CEO Water Mandate, a United Nations initiative that brings together business leaders to create sustainable solutions for water management.
- In line with its 2050 carbon neutrality target Koç Holding commits to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 27% in 2030 and by 49% in 2040 compared to the 2017 baseline year (7.8 million tCO2 e). Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions totaled 7.0 million tCO2 e in 2022.
- Koç Holding has achieved a reduction of 11% in Group emissions since its 2017 base year, in our 2050 Carbon Neutral journey with its ongoing activities for emission reduction and energy efficiency in its Group companies.