Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi AS

IST:ULKER.E

Earnings Call Transcript 2020-Q3

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Ülker Bisküvi Q3 2020 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast. I now hand over to Verda Tasar, Investor Relations Officer. Madam, please go ahead.

[Verda Tasar, executive]

Thank you. Good day, and welcome to the Ülker Bisküvi Third Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is scheduled to last about an hour, including remarks by Ülker management and the question-and-answer session. Now I would like to hand the call over to our CFO, Cenker Uçan. Cenker, ready?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining the call. Actually I am very encouraged by our performance in the third quarter. Our execution was quite strong. We continued to accelerate our strategic initiatives, and all of our regions were in growth. Our teams have been resilient and focused, and we continue to prioritize safety during Q3 as well as we will for the remainder of the year. We continued to manage successfully through uncertainty and COVID-related challenges, and consequently we are outperforming our categories, continuing to gain significant market share. Our largest categories, biscuits and chocolates continue to perform well. Cake is still under significant pressure due to the changes in consumer mobility and habits. Demand remains elevated in our core market and the international markets we are operating. We are strongest, #1 in our core market in Turkey with a market share of 37%. And our second largest market, Saudi, with a market share of 24.4%, and in Egypt with a market share of 17.6% by widening the gap between the competition each quarter. As of September, we delivered net revenue growth of 19.3% and improved our EBITDA by 50 basis points with an EBITDA margin of 17.5%. We have reached a good momentum into the pandemic, and we are satisfied that we have sustained share gains beyond the initial phase of our crisis. This demonstrates the strength of our brands and our supply chain. Our gross profit margin improved by 120 basis points despite the COVID-related costs. On the back of new and innovative launches and effective sizing and pricing activities, we continue to improve our revenue growth in biscuits and chocolate categories. In biscuits category, we increased our market share by 70 basis points and reached to 41.8%. And in chocolates category, our market share reached 41%. Due to the continued consumptions habits of home-made cakes, our market share came to 22% there was in cake. And in Ülker Bisküvi [indiscernible] launches in Turkey in third quarter. And when you look our international operations, despite of several major challenges our EBITDA margin in the first 9 months reached to 21.4% and in the Q3 realized as 22%. As of September, we continued to increase the contribution of our exports and international operations, and currently 40% of our revenues and 49% of our EBITDA is mainly coming from our successful export and international operations. Last but not least, I would like to say a word before diving into more details. [indiscernible] we issued our first eurobond in this challenging environment with more than 4x our subscription, attracting foreign investors to Turkey during the COVID pandemic was a clear sign of trust shown to Turkey and to our company. We kick off the project with a target offering amount of USD 450 million, having received an overflow of subscription of USD 1.8 billion. And we concluded the transaction with an amount of USD 650 million. More than 130 international investors from 28 [ jurisdictions ] participated in our attractive eurobond transaction process. We thank -- we would like to thank to our international investors who trust our company's solid financing structure. Now I am moving to our presentation. First, I would like to start with Turkey macroeconomic overview. Seasonal and calendar adjusted retail sales volume with constant prices increased by 1.4% in August 2020 compared with the previous month. As of August 2020, industry production index realized as 115. Manufacture of food products increased by 11% compared with the same month previous year. Consumer confidence index in Turkey realized as 61.8% in September 2020, compared to the previous month increased by 4%. And a rise in general index was realized in CPI on the previous month by around 1% in September 2020. Food inflation realized as around 15% as of September 2020. So if we are looking to the Turkey market dynamics, the total confectionery market grew by 3.1% in volume terms and increased by 20% in value terms. The total chocolate market improved by 9.5% in volume and increased by 28% in value terms. So as you might recall that, during the COVID process the chocolate business has grown very rapidly. And the total biscuits market in Turkey was up by 0.3% in volume, and increased by 16.5% in value terms. And the total cake market decreased by 4.7% in volume and increased by 6.1%, which is mainly coming from the changes of the consumer trends. If we are looking to the Ülker 2019-2020 communication highlights, so we have issued our sustainability report which has been published. And we received many awards in the category of snacking at the Good Life Brand for the third time, and award ceremony organized by Sustainable Brands. And one of the most important initiatives that we have announced is the Aliaga project, it's a wheat project. And this project has been awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey. So actually, we are very proud to say that with this project we ensure high quality and sustainable production to secure wheat supply for many years and to produce local and national biscuits, which has yielded its first fruits. So our goal is to meet more than half of the need for wheat, which is [indiscernible] 2023. And for COVID-19 priorities, actually we maintain our position, and we continued our priorities for COVID-19. So safety and well-being is our first priority, which includes the employees' safety. And we during this difficult period, we continue to build and invest in our brands. And for supply chain management, we keep our resilience, and we continue to produce in our facilities in safety and in a quality manner. So as I mentioned, that we continue to invest our brands. And in Turkey, in terms of total macro snacks value share, we maintain our market share with 22.4%. And in terms of branch recognition, considering top-of-mind awareness, so we -- our position is still #1, and our share is 31%. And for the awareness -- spontaneous awareness category, our share is 70%. And we maintained our position to be #1 in Turkey with all these categories. So as you know that we are operating in Turkey more than 75 years, and we are the largest confectionery company in the region. We have 4 -- we have 10 facilities in 4 countries, production lines. And our total capacity is around 1 million tons. And we have largest capacity in the region with strategically located plants. If we are looking our cumulative September financial results, so our revenue is around TRY 6.8 billion. And the growth in our revenue is around 19.3%. We have 25% improvement in our gross profit. And our gross profit margin has increased by 120 basis points and reached to 28.5%. And in our EBITDA, we have a growth around 22%, and our EBITDA margin improved by 50 basis points and reached to 17.5%. And our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio is very -- at very healthy levels, which is, the leverage ratio is around 0.5 multiple. If we are looking our third quarter only financial results, so we have a volume growth of 0.1%. Our revenue growth is 17.7%, and our gross profit margin has improved by 25%, and gross profit margin has improved by 160 basis points and reached 28%. The EBITDA improvement is 23%, and the EBITDA margin has improved by 70 basis points and has been concluded at 17.3% for third quarter only. For the net income side. So our net income has grown 28%, and which is better than last quarter. So I have covered cumulative figures. So then I am moving to the sales slide. So for the third quarter, the total volume -- the consolidated total volume increased by 0.51%, and we have a revenue growth around 18.8% on a consolidated basis. So the biscuits volume down by 1.5% due to the decreasing contribution of nonbranded biscuits and price adjustments. However, our biscuits sales has grown by 20%. The chocolates volume increased 6%, and the revenue growth is around 22%. So we have a cake decline. We have a decline in our cake business in third quarter, which is 12%, and the revenue has declined by 4.6%. So the cumulative figures, if we are looking to the cumulative figures, we have a volume growth around 3% on a consolidated basis, and the revenue increase is more than 20%. Our biscuits volume has grown by 1.3%, and we have a revenue growth around 19%. The chocolates volume has improved very rapidly. We have a 10.5% volume growth. And the revenues have grown by 26%. So main of the growth is coming from our chocolate business. And we have a volume decline around 11% in total cumulative figures. And the revenue decline in cake business is 7.5%. So as I mentioned in the beginning of the presentation, so we have very strong export and international operations, so which we believe that it is creating a natural hedging mechanism. And currently, 40% of our revenues are coming from our export and international operations. So if we are looking to the EBITDA split, so 49% of our EBITDA is coming from export and international operations. This is quite important asset for us, which creates a natural hedging mechanism for our balance sheet. Now I would like to continue with our anchor market, Turkey. So as I mentioned in the beginning, we are #1 in total confectionery business in Turkey. Our market share is 37%. So in biscuit category, we -- as you might recall that we have been #1 in the beginning of [ 2009 ], and we are maintaining our position in the market. And we were able to increase market share in biscuits category, which was 40.5% and improved to 41.8%. In chocolate, we are very strong #1. Our market share is 3x higher than #2. And we continued to increase our market share in chocolate category. Currently, our market share is 41%. And in cake category, we are very strong #2, and our market share is 22%. So if you are seeing the pictures of the products on the left side, we are seeing synergy products. So as you might remember, after the Pladis establishment, we have started to produce McVitie's and Godiva chocolate bars in our facilities. And we are calling all these category as synergy products. So the total contribution of the synergy products in 2019 was TRY 424 million. And as of September, it has been concluded at TRY 383 million. And we aim to reach more than TRY 500 million as of 2020. I mean, this category is quite an important asset for us because it is improving our export revenues and also increasing our market share in all regions. And if we are looking on the right side, the NPDs for Ülker branded site. So I mean, it is at Ülker we are paying more attention for NPD processes. So if we are looking, the total number of NPDs at the Ülker brand, the total contribution was around TRY 230 million, which represents 5% of our total Turkey sales. But if we are adding in the -- if we are adding the NPDs that we have launched in the last 2 years, the total contribution is ending up with 12% of total Turkish revenue. So it is quite important process for us, and we are continuing to pay attention for MPD processes going forward. So we continued to perform an outstanding performance in Turkey. So if we are looking the third quarter results, we have a volume decline around 1.7%, so which is mainly coming due to the COVID impact and also festival candy decline. As of third quarter, we have a revenue growth around 11% in Turkey. And our gross profit has improved by 140 basis points and reached 21.6%. And in terms of EBITDA margin, we have 10 basis points improvement in our EBITDA margin as of third quarter in Turkey. And if we are looking to the cumulative figures, we had a volume growth around 1%. And the total cumulative revenue growth is around 16% in Turkey. And our gross profit margin has improved by 110 basis points. And we have EBITDA around 15%, EBITDA margin around 15%. And our EBITDA has grown more than revenue growth, which is 17.6%. So in line with our strategy, we are maintaining our position to focus more to branded sites. So in terms of volume, the share of the branded business was flat, which is 91%. And also in terms of revenue, it is same like 2019, which is 94% branded business contribution. If we are moving to the export and international operations. So as you might recall that in line with our strategy, starting from 2016, we have started to acquire facilities in the international markets such as Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. And the main purpose of this acquisition was we are going to create these facilities as a production hub for the entire region. And after these acquisitions our business growth in terms of revenue and profitability have continued. And we have become #1 in most of the markets, which we clearly see that we have completed our strategy in a very successful way. So Saudi Arabia is our second market coming from after Turkey. And now I would like to start with our first acquired entity, FMC. So we have a volume growth around 13.5% in the FMC facility. And the revenue growth is around 11.5%. And due to the heavy marketing spending to the market due to the COVID, our EBITDA margin has been ended up with 14.1%. So in terms of market share, as you know that we are very clear #1 in biscuit category in Saudi. As Ülker only we have 16.2% market share. And if we are adding McVitie's, which has 8.2% market share, we have 24.4% market share in biscuit category. As you might see that the competitor -- our main competitors' market share is around 14.3%. So if we are moving to our second facility financial results, we have volume improvement around 1.5%. Our net sales is similar to '19. And our EBITDA margin has improved by 190 basis points and which ends up around 29.3%. So on Page 28 we are seeing the trend of the profitability and the business growth of our Saudi business. And so we have been very successful in Saudi business. So in 2016, our revenue in Saudi was around SAR 63.5 million. And it has been reached to around SAR 150 million as yearly basis. And in terms of profitability, the EBITDA margin in 2016, it was 13.6%. And now it has jumped to around 20%, which is clearly proving that our initiatives that we have taken in Saudi and creating more synergies after these acquisitions. And if we are moving to our third largest market, Egypt, we have a volume and revenue decline in Egypt. So our EBITDA margin is similar to 2019. But as you might remember that we have ambition to be #1 in biscuit category in Egypt, and we have become #1 in the beginning of 2020. And currently we have a market share around 17.6%. So as UI MENA, our mill company, I mean, this company has only the production and distribution rights of McVitie's and located in Dubai. We had 13.3% volume growth, and 9.2% revenue growth, and the EBITDA margin has jumped to more than 35%, which is contributing very strongly to our consolidated profitability. So for Kazakhstan, as you might remember that we have completed our CapEx investment in Kazakhstan. And I mean 2020 will be the year of Kazakhstan. So as you see that we have a 14.1% volume growth in Kazakhstan, and the revenue growth is more than 30%, and the EBITDA margin reached around 15% levels. So as you might remember that in 2017 the EBITDA margin of the Kazakhstan entity was around 1% to 2% and now has jumped to 15%, so which we are seeing the positive contribution of our CapEx investment and business expansion in export markets. So in local market Kazakhstan we are #3 in chocolates business. And our market share is around 13%. In terms of market share development. So in Saudi, we have improved our market share by 40 basis points, and currently we have 24.4% market share in biscuits category. In Egypt, we have improved our market share by 70 basis points. And currently, as you know, that we are #1 and market share is 17.6%. And in Kazakhstan, in chocolate business, we have improved our market share by 70 basis points. And currently we have 12.9% market share in chocolate category in Kazakhstan. So in all regions we are, like Turkey we are paying attention for the new products and synergy products. So on Page 33 we are seeing the pictures of the new launches in these international businesses. So we are seeing positive contribution of our export and international operations. So as of third quarter, the total confectionery volume growth was around 4.5%, which represents around 31.6% revenue growth. And our gross profit margin has improved by 60 basis points. And currently we have 37% gross profit margin. And our EBITDA margin is 100 basis points better than last quarter and our international operations EBITDA margin is 22%. So if we are moving to the cumulative figures. So we have 8% volume growth, which is mainly driven by the export business. And the revenue growth is around 28%, which is mainly coming from the volume growth and also positive impact to FX to Turkish lira. And our gross profit margin has improved by 60 basis points. And the EBITDA margin is 50 basis points higher than last year. And currently, our cumulative EBITDA margin in international operations is 21.4%. So on Page 36. So as we define our strategy like in Turkey, we are continuing to focus the branded business in international site, and the share of the branded business is improving, which was 79% of total portfolio, has jumped to 81% of total portfolio in terms of volume. So in terms of revenue, the share of the branded business has increased from 84% to 85% in our total portfolio. If we are moving to balance sheet highlights. So as I mentioned that we are celebrating our success in the issuance of the euro bonds despite heavy market conditions. So we were very successful and issued our Eurobond for 5 years period with an amount of USD 650 million. And so, as I mentioned, that we kick off the project with a target offering amount of USD 450 million, and we have 4x higher subscription and reached to USD 1.8 billion. And the total coupon payment interest rate is 6.95%, which we are paying these coupons semiannually. If we are moving to net working capital and net debt position, so we have very healthy net debt ratio, so -- which is 0.5 multiple. And as of September we have 48% short-term loan payments, maturity payments. But as you know that in November we have syndication facility payment around USD 450 million. So with the euro bond issuance we are going to refinance and we are going to repay these principal payments in November. So if we are -- I mean, as of year-end, so most of the loans, I mean, payables would be long-term as at year-end presentation. So the -- in terms of average working capital days. So actually, the total days have improved from 76 days to 91 days. Which is mainly driven to the COVID because during this COVID-19 period. So we have focused more to the advantage of favorable procurement processes. So we prefer to pay cash, so which has positive impact to our gross profit margin and also in order to build safe site. So there have been increase in our inventory days. And due to these actions so we have minus free cash flow which we are going to focus and improve our free cash flow in the last quarter of 2020. So at Ülker we don't have any FX exposure on the balance sheet. So due to the volatile environment in Turkey, especially in FX rates against Turkish lira our P&L has not been negatively impacted. So we are long in U.S. dollars and short in euro. In our total net position in FX is around 20 -- USD 15 million levels. Now I have finished my presentation. Now we can move to Q&A. Thank you very much for your listening.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] We have a first question from Ece Mandaci from Unlu Securities.

[Ece Baysal, analyst]

I have 2 questions, if I may. One is on your eurobond that you have issued. After you have issued those eurobonds and after the planned payment or that syndication loans, I think -- I estimate like you will have net base short FX position. Do you have any plans to have some derivatives or hedging instruments to hedge this short level? And the second question is on the change in your balance sheet items. I'm seeing some increase in your receivables from the holding company. Is it temporary? Or could you just provide some information about it?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

For your first question, actually after the issuance of eurobond actually we were not in short FX because as you know that's after payments, so we will have USD 200 million additional debt, but which we have 200 million additional cash and cash-equivalent items. So in -- if we are talking about U.S. dollar-euro parity mismatch, so it is going to reduce because we were paying it in euros. So therefore, it is going to be in a much better position. So for your second question. So we have -- we are selling our products through Yildiz Holding company. So I think you are asking us for the trade receivables from the Yildiz Holding related entities or…

[Ece Baysal, analyst]

Not the trade receivables…

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Can you hear me? Okay. So -- sorry? The other nontraded trade receivable, non-trade receivables I mean.

[Ece Baysal, analyst]

Nontrade receivables. So I mean, as you know that we have placed our funds in the liquid funds portfolio. And I mean, we -- I mean in the first quarter we have recognized loss. And in second quarter, we have compensated most of the loss. And in August we have recognized additional gains. So you can also follow in the P&L. So in order -- due to this position. So I mean, in order to be on the safe and prudent way, we have converted 33% of total portfolio into the cash. But if we are looking to the market dynamics for the placement rates actually, the interest rate that we have received was 0 and very close to 0%. So in order to benefit from this cash, so we have placed this money to Yildiz Holding and getting interest in favor of us. So this placement is for short term, it's not going to be kept for a long period.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] Next question from Metin Esendal from Renaissance Capital.

[Metin Esendal, analyst]

I have a follow-up question regarding the placement to Yildiz. What is the yield on the placement to Yildiz?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

It is more than 2.5%, yearly basis.

[Metin Esendal, analyst]

Okay. And the maturity you said is going to be short term, but very short term? Or are you going to keep it, I don't know, a year or so?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

No, no, it is not going to be kept for a year. I mean, we are placing and calculating the interest on a daily basis. So actually it is going to be until year-end. But in the first quarter, I mean, it is also dependent on the market conditions. So we will decide how we are going to place with this fund.

[Metin Esendal, analyst]

Okay. And last question on the short-term financial assets. You mentioned you liquidate 1/3 of it, but you still have big financial assets. What's the plan for the remaining of the portfolio, you're going to invest in the equity or you plan to divest this portfolio gradually?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Actually currently it is lower than last year, despite heavy FX increase. So I mean the total has been liquidated, and we have very limited portfolio. So we will decide based on the macroeconomic environment. But currently, as you might remember that we have more than TRY 80 million fair value gain as of September 2020.

[Operator]

Next question from Hanzade Kilickiran from JPMorgan.

[Hanzade Kilickiran, analyst]

I have one question on your operations. In the -- in MENA markets, particularly in Saudi and UAE you start to see some sort of boycotting on Turkish products. And I heard that some of the UAE, I mean retailers start the campaign. They refused to get any Turkish product. Is this affecting your sales in these regions in the fourth quarter? I mean, do you see any sort of risk on your strong volumes in MENA market at the moment?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Thank you, Hanzade. Actually, yes, I mean, our team in Saudi in the region is monitoring this situation very carefully and updating us immediately. So I mean, actually currently the restriction is applied more exports from Turkey to this region. I mean, for 2020, we -- I mean, most of the exports have been done. So therefore, it is not going to be an issue for us. And our exports from Turkey towards Saudi is very limited, very immaterial amount. And as you know that in Saudi we have 3 brands. So I mean, Ülker brands, McVitie's brands and also Rana, the local brand. So far, I mean, we are not foreseeing any big issue. I mean our team is dealing these issues in Saudi. But currently our factories are working. We are continuing to produce and sell. Actually, we are not expecting material issue for our 2020 targets.

[Hanzade Kilickiran, analyst]

[indiscernible] I do also have a follow-up on your trade receivable -- nontrade receivable, so Yildiz Holding. And is this a dollar receivable or Turkish lira receivable, I mean 2.5% interest rate is a dollar interest rate, right?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Yes, dollar.

[Hanzade Kilickiran, analyst]

Okay. Seems like a good deal for Yildiz Holding actually. How are they going to pay this receivable back to you? I mean, I presume that they are using this receivable to pay their loans, but what is the cash flow on their side?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Actually, I haven't -- I mean, I have no idea about their cash flow and what they did with this money. But you know that -- I mean, we are placing this money in favor of us. I mean, this money is secured and safe. So whenever I want I can withdraw the money.

[Operator]

Next question is from [ Alessandro McDonald ] from [ MetLife ].

[Unknown Analyst]

Just a quick question. So on the free cash flow for Q4 you said you intend to improve those. So shall we expect positive free cash flow by the end of the year? And is the improvement going to be related and driven by the cash-in of these nontrade receivables? Or is there something else that is going to drive the improvement?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Actually, I mean, for free cash flow side there is no relationship with non-trade receivables. So I mean, it is not treated as a net working capital item. What we are going to do is to focus our receivables, I mean, to make the -- I mean, to accelerate the collection ratios and reducing inventory levels and since we made very high level of procurement than it's going to be as a product. And so I mean, the net working capital will improve in the fourth quarter. So this is the target that we are aiming.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. So you expect to be neutral by the end of the year? Is that fair?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Yes, yes, exactly. We will be seeing a better position in our free cash flow.

[Operator]

Next question from Harry Whelpton from Vergent Asset Management.

[Harry Whelpton, analyst]

2 questions. I'll just go one at a time, please. So the first, if you can talk a bit more about the boycott of products in Saudi and Egypt. Are you seeing more McVitie's products being sold and less Ülker products?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Actually, the Boycott is not in Egypt so far. It is in Saudi. And the main concern is coming from the made in Turkey. I mean, if you are importing from Turkey, it is creating an issue. And now, since we have facilities currently, we are selling Rana, McVitie's and Ülker brands. I mean in some supermarkets the Ülker portfolio volume has declined. But now it is going to be changed. If it's going to be made in Saudi, it is not going to create an issue. But for exports, I mean for the import of Saudi, it is already closed. But as I mentioned that, in the third quarter most of the exports have been done to Saudi. So I mean, for these products, there has not been any issue. But for Egypt, there is not any boycott so far.

[Harry Whelpton, analyst]

Okay. So you said that the Ülker products are not doing so well in volumes. And the plan is to change it so it says, "Made in Saudi Arabia."

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Yes. It might be because currently the main issue is if you are importing from Turkey.

[Harry Whelpton, analyst]

Yes, no, I understand what the issue is. But I think you need to probably give the consumer a bit more benefit of the doubt. They probably -- I think they understand Ülker is a Turkish product as well.

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Yes. But as you know that…

[Harry Whelpton, analyst]

So even if you change it to -- sorry, go ahead.

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Yes. Since the process is very, I mean, new, I mean we are getting information from our local team. Yes, although it has been boycotted by the government. So I mean we are talking about consumer preferences. So as I mentioned that we have McVitie's and Rana brands. And what we are now doing is started gross production from Egypt to Saudi. I mean we have this flexibility. So we might also -- I mean, the brand is very strong, and we are operating in Saudi since 1979. So therefore, we -- I mean, so far, for October, we don't have a very strong sales drop in Ülker's side. But as I mentioned that, we are monitoring the market very closely with our local team. And as we are aiming to reach EUR 9.1 billion target in the net sales for our year-end.

[Harry Whelpton, analyst]

Okay. Clear. And the second question, at the beginning of the call you talked about net revenue management. So I just wanted to understand how much of the sales growth and margin expansion is coming from altering the weight of the products, changing the sizing, things like that.

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Actually, I mean, I cannot give you the proper number, but I can say that at Ülker we are always saying that, especially in Turkey and also in our international markets. So we are taking necessary actions in order to sustain our growth. As I mentioned, that MPD processes are quite important. 5% is coming -- 5% of total Turkey is coming from the launches in 2020, and 12% in the last 20% of total portfolio is coming if we are adding 2 years' MPDs. So we are a -- we are aiming always to maintain our position in the market and also maintaining our market share.

[Harry Whelpton, analyst]

Okay. But are you making alterations to pack sizing?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

We are always doing these activities, of course.

[Operator]

Next question from Kayahan Demirak from Is Investment.

[Kayahan Demirak, analyst]

I have 2 questions. The first one, since you have completed the eurobond issues. Is there any, I mean, new concrete developments on your acquisition agenda? And the second question, now you issued eurobond, and I understand that you are going to pay back your syndication loan with most of it. But there is a huge interest difference of around 5% in the USD terms. And I understand that there's maturity differences, but why do you choose to cover up previous [indiscernible] interest-bearing debt?

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

Actually, the difference is not 5%, first of all. I mean, it is around 3%, 3.5%. So it is the fair value of this bond instruments. Actually, yes, the maturity is 5 years. So that's why it is a little bit expensive than the normal facilities. But at Ülker we are #1 in total Turkey confectionery market. And so I mean our reputation is very high. So we always believe that at Ülker we have to be in this eurobond market as having a huge brand name. So I mean, the rest of the funds, I mean, in the 1 to 2-year period, so there are some new, I mean the existing loan repayments are coming. So as you know that we have investment also from global banks for our -- some regions.

So I mean, in '21 we will start to make some principal payments. So I mean this excess fund would be used for this principal payment. And also we are talking about 5-years period. So if the market conditions, we might consider some M&A activities, I mean, in order to support our vertical integration. Of course, so far, I mean, there is not any proper accurate plan. But we have 5 years period. So I mean, it is going to be dependent on the market conditions and opportunities. So I mean, as you know that -- I mean, the maturity of the bond is 5 years. So I mean, we would like to be on the safe position to secure our financial capabilities for 5 years.

[Operator]

No more question by phone. Sir, back to you for the conclusion.

[Cenker Uçan, executive]

So actually, I would like to thank everyone for joining this call. So I mean, we have announced another successful financial result. And we hope this momentum will continue in the fourth quarter. And I am looking forward to meet you in March for our December financial results announcement. Thank you.

[Verda Tasar, executive]

Thank you.

[Operator]

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes the conference call. Thank you all for your participation. You may now disconnect.