BİM joins league of giants in market value

Oktay Özdabakoğlu - Radikal

BİM is Turkey’s 12th largest company in terms of its market value, which increased 18-fold from seven years ago when it first joined the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Turkey’s discount retailer has increased its market value 18-fold in the seven years it has been listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange reaching $6.6 billion, even surpassing the market value of leading Turkish companies like Tüpraş and Erdemir, according to daily Sabah. BİM is now Turkey’s 12th largest company by market value.

The reasons behind the rapid increase in market value are the following, according to the source: a rapid increase in the number of BİM stores and impressive growth in their turnover, the company’s capacity to pay high dividends, its ability to grow profits each year, its entry into the international arena with its stores in Morocco, its added revenues via BİMCELL and the fact that three-fourths of its stocks are held by foreign investors.

The discount food retailer has managed to surpass not only Tüpraş and Erdemir in terms of market value, but also Arçelik, Ford Otosan, Finansbank, and Vakıfbank. BİM has also paid its partners 736.2 million Turkish Liras in dividends during the seven years it has been listed on the stock exchange.

BİM started with 21 stores in 1995 and increased this to 1,075 by 2004. After it held its initial public offering (IPO) in 2005 it expanded even more rapidly and by the end of 2011 had 3,538 stores. In the seven years it has also increased its employees three-fold. In 2010 BİM became the retail sector leader with a turnover of 6.5 billion liras.