The turnover of Tractafric Motors Côte d’Ivoire (TMC), which specializes in the sale of new motor vehicles, fell by 8.5% at the end of the third quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019.
This turnover amounted to 37.009 billion FCFA against 40.463 billion FCFA as of September 30, 2019, a contraction of 3.454 billion FCFA. This situation is the result of less dynamic activity during the period under review. According to TMC executives during the third quarter of 2020, there were 1,466 new vehicles sold against 1,658 in the third quarter of 2019, a decrease of 2%.
The after-sales service (store and workshop) is also down by 1.453 billion FCFA with a turnover which fell from 7.686 billion FCFA as of September 30, 2019 to 6.233 billion FCFA a year later. At this level, TMC officials justify the underperformance by the impact of measures taken by the Ivorian government in the fight against Covid-19.
As for the tire business, it recorded a sharp drop of 27.68% compared to 2019, posting a turnover of 2.186 billion FCFA. “The sales of the tire business fell by 837 million FCFA due to the isolation of greater Abidjan and travel restriction measures,” said TMC officials. However, they were pleased with the 5% increase in rental activity.
The result from ordinary activities fell by 2.6% with an achievement of 1.491 billion during the period under review against 1.531 billion FCFA as of September 30, 2019.
As for the net result, it fell slightly by 1.7% to 1.082 billion FCFA against 1.100 billion FCFA a year earlier. According to TMC executives, the achievement of this level of profit is due to maintaining margins and rigorous control of operating expenses.
Looking ahead for the last quarter of 2020, TMC officials believe that “cost control efforts should allow us to maintain a stable result compared to 2019”. They maintain, however, that the decline in turnover observed at the end of September 2020 will not be caught up in the last quarter.