Sera Group/ Şener: We are trying to survive and grow
Sera Group CEO Ozan Şener stated that they are shaped according to the developments in the country and abroad, and they are trying to both survive and grow.
In the Bloomeberg HT broadcast he attended, Şener said, “Sera Group is a contracting company that is the founding partner of TAV Airports Holding and TAV Construction. Apart from contracting, we have other projects such as tourism, hotel management, foreign real estate investments. Our airport construction is in the majority. Now we have a very big deal in Covid. We went through a period of hesitation, there were great disruptions in the supply chain. The disruptions in our supply chain still continue on the European side and this has a great impact on our cost increases. With the investment of the State after Covid, we have also turned to very serious State affairs. Currently, Antalya, Esenboğa and Kayseri Airports are among our ongoing construction sites. Therefore, we were able to position ourselves seriously as Sera.”
Expressing that the most important issue in cost increases is being able to predict, Şener said, “It may not be possible to foresee at the moment, but the most important thing is to plan it. With the pause in construction after Covid, the banks’ liquidity in the construction sector decreased significantly. It is not possible for us to reach liquidity before the banks anymore. we have adjusted, now we are trying to manage cash flow. While Europe used to sell products with an advance payment of 10 percent, now they are demanding 40 percent because the demand is high. Europe has also increased the lead times, increased the advance expectations, and the prices of the products increased with the European inflation. Of course, we are shaped according to all these, and we are trying to survive and grow,” he said.
Expressing that there is a decrease in the credit side for the construction industry, on the other hand, they receive serious support on the side of letters of guarantee, Şener said, “Turkish banks should definitely support us with counter guarantees in the works we receive abroad. Our request from banks is collateral before the loan. From here, I want to give the message to all banks that we support the contractors. ” said.
Regarding the airport constructions, Şener said, “After Covid, Antalya Airport started to be insufficient due to the tourist density. At the moment, both new terminals are being built and apron growth is taking place. The most important thing is apron growth because there was a serious problem in the aircraft park.”
Şener added, “After the earthquake, we also made emergency repairs to Hatay and Malatya Airports so that aid planes could land. They have not been opened to commercial flights yet.”
Şener said, “We have completed a total of 10 billion dollars of projects abroad, and we have projects of more than 2 billion dollars in progress. We have works with the Doha Airport phases, especially at Qatar Airport. At the same time, as Sera, together with my partners in Montenegro, we have a 5-star Hotel and a project. “We have a residence investment. Apart from these, we also follow the Russian market. I think that with the end of the Ukraine-Russia war, there will be a serious opening in Russia. This Neom City project of Saudi Arabia attracts everyone’s attention, that is, it will be a big tourism project there by the Red Sea.” Many of our contractors have started to go there now,” he said.
