Turkey's leading defence firm Aselsan made 1.2 billion Turkish Lira ($147 million) in profits in the first quarter of the year, 34% more than the same period of 2020.
"We experienced a significant acceleration in our growth and profitability indicators in the first quarter of 2021," Haluk Görgün, the President and CEO of Aselsan, said in a written statement.
The company enjoyed stable growth and high profitability in this period, said Görgün and underlined that attempted direct and indirect embargoes on Turkey have "once again revealed the importance of self-sufficiency in defence."
Görgün underlined that the introduction of the CATS Electro-Optical Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Targeting System developed and produced by the company was the most recent example of "the struggle for independence" in the defence industry "that we have been continuing for more than 45 years."
He also touched on the company's efforts in the medical devices sector.
"In the first quarter of 2021, Aselsan exported an Automatic External Defibrillator device that performs critical intervention in sudden cardiac arrest, to France and Italy."
Aselsan's three-month turnover grew by 22% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 3.2 billion Turkish Lira. The company's gross profit increased by 24% compared to the first quarter of last year.
