The turnover of Tractafric Motors Côte d'Ivoire (TMC), which specializes in the sale of new motor vehicles, fell by 8.5% at the end of the third quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019.

This turnover stood at 37.009 billion FCFA against 40.463 billion FCFA as of September 30, 2019, i.e. a contraction of 3.454 billion FCFA. This situation is the result of less dynamic activity during the period under review. According to TMC executives during the third quarter of 2020, there were 1,466 new vehicles sold compared to 1,658 in the third quarter of 2019, a decrease of 2%.

After-sales service (store and workshop) is also down by 1.453 billion FCFA with a turnover which fell from 7.686 billion FCFA on September 30, 2019 to 6.233 billion FCFA a year later. At this level, TMC officials justify the poor performance by the impact of the measures taken by the Ivorian government in the context of the fight against Covid-19.

As for the tire activity, it recorded a sharp drop of 27.68% compared to 2019, posting a turnover of 2.186 billion FCFA. "Sales of the tire activity fell by 837 million FCFA due to the isolation of greater Abidjan and the travel restriction measures", maintain TMC officials. On the other hand, they were delighted with the 5% increase in rental activity.

The result of ordinary activities is down by 2.6% with an achievement of 1.491 billion during the period under review against 1.531 billion FCFA as of September 30, 2019.

As for the net result, it is down slightly by 1.7% to 1.082 billion FCFA against 1.100 billion FCFA a year earlier. According to the managers of TMC, the achievement of this level of result is due to the maintenance of margin rates and the rigorous control of operating expenses.

In outlook for the last quarter of 2020, TMC officials believe that "efforts to control costs should allow us to maintain a stable result compared to 2019". They maintain, however, that the drop in turnover observed at the end of September 2020 will not be caught up in the last quarter.