Decline in exports hurts Arctic?s turnover

Home appliances producer Arctic, held by Turkish group Ar?elik, saw a 3% decline in sales and a 5% drop in turnover in the first six months of the year against the same time last year, amid a decline in exports of the Gaesti-based plant. In the first half of this year, Arctic sold 667,000 home appliances, down by around 3% against the same time last year, when it sold 691,000 units. In the first six months of last year, Arctic posted an over 12% sales increase in terms of volume, against the similar time in 2006, following an increase in demand for more sophisticated products. “The results we derived on the external market reflect the international economic situation. More than half the refrigerators manufactured in Gaesti are exported and the worldwide economic crisis has had a negative impact on the majority of countries where we export our products,” said Ugur Kayali, general manager of Arctic.