Egypt’s only listed auto-manufacturer, GB Auto, says that sales of construction machinery and buses are falling behind as the domestic vehicles sector begins to recover.
Aftershocks from the Arab Spring uprising continue to dog the Egyptian economy. Egypt’s economic growth is expected to slow to just 1% this year as gains from the last six months of 2010, where growth exceeded 5%, are reversed. Many businesses have faced six months of strikes and industrial action.
GB Auto has surprised few analysts by reporting that its second quarter profits fell by 35%, however, the Middle East’s largest independent car maker said revenue from passenger cars rose 6% to $238m on the back of increased consumer spending and its entry into the Iraq market.
It also notched up a 79% increase while sales from motorcycles and three wheelers increased 79% to $40m – its best ever performance in the sector.
However there was less good news from its sales to the commercial and industrial sectors which included commercial vehicle sales falling by 24% and even greater declines in bus sales of 35%.
“Personal cars sales and motorcycles are already recovering. The problem still lies with trucks, construction machinery and tourist buses which haven’t picked up as fast; as they are linked to other struggling sectors” Beltone Financial analyst Hamed Hesham told Egyptian newspaper Ahram.