Egyptian auto tycoon Raouf Ghabbour’s GB Auto spends $7.6 million of capital raise proceeds

Ghabbour Auto (GB Auto), an Egyptian auto company run by Raouf Ghabbour, stated that it has spent EGP147.35 million ($7.67 million) of its capital raise subscription proceeds.

The announcement comes five years after the automaker collected EGP958.67 million ($49.9 million) through a capital raise exercise in June 2015 in line with its strategic expansion goals.

According to a market filing on Monday, its subscription proceeds has thus decreased from EGP958.67 million ($49.9 million) to EGP811.31 million ($42.2 million).

Ghabbour founded GB Auto in 1985 as an Egyptian manufacturer of vehicles, buses, trucks, and motorcycles. It has since evolved into one of the Middle East and North Africa’s leading automotive assemblers and distributors.

Shares in the Egyptian vehicle maker were worth EGP3.74 ($0.1947) per share as of press time on Sept. 6, 53 basis points higher than their starting price on the Egyptian Exchange, as investors remained wary about the country’s macroeconomic situation and its impact on business performance.

At current prices, the Ghabbour family’s 62.9-percent interest in GB Auto is worth EGP2.57 billion ($133.7 million), making the family one of the wealthiest investors on the Egyptian Exchange.

Despite rising shipping costs, supply chain challenges, and a global semiconductor shortage, GB Auto reported a 7.1-percent increase in profit in the first half of 2022 — from EGP672.3 million (35.1 million) to EGP720 million ($37.6 million) — driven by a 11.2-percent increase in revenue from EGP14.1 billion ($736.3 million) to EGP15.7 billion ($820 million).

GB Auto CEO Nader Ghabbour said the group’s financial performance in the second quarter of the year was supported by strong demand for its products and services, as well as prudent strategies to navigate an increasingly challenging operating environment.