Profits for Egypt's Ghabbour Auto (GB Auto) climbed 254 percent in the third quarter, compared to the same period the prior year, the company announced in a statement to the Egyptian Stock Exchange on Monday. The automotive assembler and distributor attributed the sales growth to a surge in passenger car sales, higher sales in the Iraqi market and in domestic construction equipment sales, CEO Raouf Ghabour said in a press release from the company. GB auto recorded almost LE72 million in net profits in the third quarter of 2013, compared to LE20.3 million in the same period last year. Revenues also jumped 47.6 percent to LE3.1 billion from LE2.1 billion year on year. The company's bonanza, driven by passenger car sales, contributed LE2.3 billion to total revenues in the three months ending 30 September, the highest in five years, said Ghabour. Commercial vehicles and construction equipment which contribute almost 7 percent to revenues also saw unit sales rise by 147 percent "on the back of increased spending in Egypt's infrastructure," said Ghabbour. The Iraqi market achieved 14 percent growth in sales, while investments made in Algeria are expected to "start posting a respectable sales performance in 2015," said Ghabbour. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/115188.aspx
