ISTANBUL - A Turkish automotive firm grew in 2008, a company statement said on Tuesday.
Turkey's Otokar company grew 12 percent in 2008 over 2007, the statement said.
The company recorded a profit of 34.8 million USD in 2008.
Otokar celebrated the 45th anniversary of its foundation last year.
The company raised its turnover by 12 percent to 479 million USD in 2008 when compared with 2007. Its turnover was only 428 million USD in 2007.
"Otokar earned some 70 million USD of income from defense industry product exports," the director general of the firm said.
Director general Serdar Gorguc also said that Otokar's armored vehicle sales were up 25 percent in 2008.
Gorguc said that Otokar had exported commercial vehicles worth 45 million USD, and broadened its distribution network by signing deals with seven new markets and seven new distributors in Europe.
He also said that the company sold buses to 30 countries, and its overall exports were up 16 percent and reached 115 million USD in 2008.
Being one of the major automotive manufacturers in Turkey, Otokar has been providing solutions to its customers both in commercial and military range since 1963. Otokar is the main supplier of the Turkish Military Forces for 4x4 tactical vehicles, and has heavily invested and upgraded its production facilities by introducing the most modern manufacturing technologies which resulted a great success in its operations.
A Koc Group company, Otokar operates with its nearly 1200 employees in a 552.000 m² plant in Sakarya.