AS FAKTO

ANNOUNCEMENT

11.02.98

 

 

COMMENTARY TO THE FINANCIAL RESULTS 12/98

 

The consolidated report of AS Fakto includes the financial 

statements of the following companies:

1)	AS Fakto; main field of activity is sale and maintenance of 

new Nissan automobiles;

2)	AS Nissan Balti; main field of activity is sale of Nissan 

automobiles in the Baltic republics. AS Fakto owns 65% 

shareholding in AS Nissan Balti;

3)	AS Itaalia Auto; main field of activity is import and 

sale of the automobiles of Fiat Group (Fiat, Alfa-Romeo and 

Lancia) in Estonia. AS Fakto owns 100% shareholding in AS 

Itaalia Auto;

4)	OÜ Nempe; main field of activity is import of car 

alarms, retail and wholesales in Estonia, and car rental 

services. AS Fakto owns 100% holding in OÜ Nempe;

 

Consolidated income statement does not include the intra-group 

sales, and consolidated accounting balance sheet does not 

include reciprocal liabilities.

 

 

Sale of cars

Estonia

In 1998, 12 567 new motor vehicles were sold in Estonia, of 

which 10 444 were automobiles. Compared with the 1997 sales 

volumes, there was an 8% decrease; however, the 1996 sales 

volumes were 1.8 times less than the figures of 1998. The most 

successful brand was Toyota, followed by Honda, Volkswagen and 

Nissan. Fakto along with its subsidiaries sold in 1998 in 

Estonia 993 new cars and minivans. The sales of the companies 

were the following:

 

				automobiles		

	Nissan Balti		766			

	Incl.Fakto*		549			

	Itaalia Auto		227

		Total :	993	

* AS Fakto purchases all new automobiles from AS Nissan Balti

		

Considering that the sales figures presented by several 

automobile companies include also the vehicles exported, the 

Estonian market share can also be expressed via the number of 

vehicles registered in the Vehicle Register. The market shares 

according to the number of cars registered for the first time 

were the following:

		

		NISSAN			  	8,27 %

		FIAT+ALFA ROMEO	  		2,47 % 

			Total:         		10,74 %	

 

Latvia

Compared with 1997, the automobile market in Latvia increased 

by approximately 50% annually. 9655 new motor vehicles were 

sold, of which 7622 were automobiles. The main reason behind 

the activation of the market was the introduction of leasing 

services. Opel became the market leader. Nissan vehicles 

supplied by Nissan Balti AS were sold in the amount of 280, 

which makes the market share of NISSAN in Latvia approximately 

2,9 %.

 

Lithuania

Although the population of Lithuania in comparison with the 

other Baltic states is the largest, the sale of new automobiles 

over there has been the lowest. In 1998, 6594 new motor 

vehicles were sold, of which 4 849 were automobiles. The market 

as a whole is dominated by German cars, which could be caused 

by the geographic proximity of this country. Market leader is 

Volkswagen, followed by Opel and Ford. Out of the total number 

of automobiles sold, 163 were under NISSAN trade mark, which 

gives a 2,5 % market share.

 

The market share of Nissan in Europe is 3%, thus the market 

shares of Latvia and Lithuania can be considered as average 

European.

 

 

Net sales of the companies in the group

Consolidated net sales of the companies in the group were the 

following:

 

                               Net sales       Net profit

AS Fakto                  163 920 913,67       32 005 289

AS Nissan Balti           131 947 019,00       20 386 600

AS Nempe                    4 790 920,74        4 318 245

AS Itaalia Auto            54 206 369,36        9 883 099

Total                     354 865 222,77       66 593 233

 

Among the net sales, the share of exports was 118 933 672 EEK, 

or 33,5%.

The net sales of the companies of AS Fakto group 

(unconsolidated), according to the fields of activity, were the 

following:

 

 

AS Fakto

                              	   Net sales  Share of

                                    	         total

Sale of new cars and                         

sales premiums                    108 187 489   61,39%

Sale of used cars                                   

and commissions                     9 954 425    5,65%

Maintenance works                  12 239 653    6,94%

Car supplies and spare parts       26 590 081   15,09%

Sale of Istobal products            7 894 951    4,48%

rent of rooms                       4 407 811    2,50%

Transportation services             3 225 786    1,83%

Other sales                         3 739 380    2,12%

Total sales                       176 239 576         

 

 

AS Nissan Balti

                               	   	     Net sales  Share of

                                    	                   total

Sale of automobiles                          219 577 069 88,37%

Car supplies and spare parts                  28 013 918 11,27%

Other sales                                      889 294  0,36%

Total sales                                  248 480 281       

 

 

AS Itaalia Auto

                               	   	     Net sales  Share of

                                    	                   total

Sale of new Fiat Group automobiles            43 647 009  76,52%

Sale of used cars                                217 979   0,38%

Maintenance works                                732 466   1,28%

Car supplies and spare parts                   9 266 795  16,25%

Other sales                                    3 178 228   5,57%

Total sales                                   57 042 477        

 

 

OÜ Nempe

                               	   	     Net sales  Share of

                                    	                   total

Sale of car alarms and supplies                5 426 060 61,47 %

Rental services                                2 732 043 30,95 %

Other sales                                      669 516  7,58 %

Total sales                                    8 827 619       

 

 

The assets of Fakto group increased in 1998 41 342 237 EEK, or 

38,3%. Current assets increased by 14 050 575 EEK, and non-

current assets by 27 291 661 EEK. 

 

Among the current assets, the inventories increased the most 

(7 999 thousand EEK), which was due to the increase of reserves 

by Nissan Balti in order to reduce the time limits on 

purchasing new cars.

 

Among the non-current assets, the most voluminous investment in 

1998 was the sale and service center of Fiat group vehicles, 

built by AS Itaalia Auto, which was opened in November 1998. 

The cost of the service center was ca 25 million EEK. in order 

to complete the building, 18 million EEK loan was taken from 

Hansapank, of which 9 million was taken in EEK and 9 million in 

DEM. The collateral for the loan is the building and guarantee 

by AS Fakto. 

 

Long-term receivables from the car rental services, enabling AS 

Fakto to widen their selection of services, are reflected under 

the account of financial investments. 

 

On the account of liabilities, the payables to suppliers and 

credit institutions increased the most. Supplier payables 

increased by 11 624 thousand EEK (mainly due to increased 

inventories) and payables to the credit institutions increased 

in the amount of 24 997 thousand EEK (Itaalia Auto service 

center and rental services of OÜ Nempe). 

 

AS Fakto forecasted the 1998 turnover to amount to 400 million 

EEK, of which 88.7% was met. The main reason behind lower 

realization was the sale of cars, which was lower than 

forecasted (nominal sales forecast was 88.6% fulfilled). 

 

The gross profit of 1998 was 5 498 thousand EEK, which is 91.6% 

of the initial forecast.

 

 

TOIVO URVA

Chairman of the Management Board

Tel. +372 638 9222