As of late December 2024, French automaker Renault held fourth place in Tunisia’s sales and vehicle registration rankings, with its local distributor, Artes (Mzabi Group), selling 3,175 units in the market.
In a total market of 79,369 vehicles, dominated by Hyundai, where used car re-registrations accounted for 28% market share (up from just 23% in 2023), Artes captured only 8.44% market share across all vehicle types.
Fortunately for transparency (as Artes is publicly listed, unlike many private firms), the distributor reported 2024 revenue of over 257.3 million dinars (MD), nearly doubling its 2023 figure (142.6 MD).
Gross margin more than doubled (29.11 MD to 50.75 MD), while operating income surged from 19 MD to 38.6 MD.
Well-paid managers. But how many CEOs?
Despite rising financial costs (+50 MD, reaching 136 MD), a 12.5 MD corporate tax bill, and a 1.426 MD solidarity contribution, Artes still posted higher profits—boosted by 15.6 MD in financial investment income.
Net profit climbed from 4.416 MD to 27.126 MD, closing 2024 at 40.416 MD, thanks to a robust gross margin exceeding 50.7 MD.
Except that Artes’ turnover (in TD) was highest in 2024. According to the TSE, where the dealership is one of only four listed on the stock exchange (and this could change following the purchase of a controlling stake in STA by the Kilani group, which is not known for being too keen on the stock exchange), Artes’ turnover increased by 80.5% .
This is compared with 1% for City Cars (with a net profit of 5 million dinars as at 30 June 24, as the company has still not published any more), 37.3 for STA (the company more than quadrupled its net profit from 1.3 million dinars to 5.8 million dinars), while Ennakl’s revenues even fell by 7.8% in 2024 (although its net profit for the 2024 financial year was still up by 10 million dinars).
With more brands and better pay, Ennakl is no better
But perhaps it is the level of remuneration of the management caste that is responsible for the company’s good results! TD 1.204 million for the entire management of Artes, including 10 Board members and an unspecified number of CEOs. 0.630 million dinars for STA (with one of the lowest paid CEOs), 2.243 million dinars for the 6 directors of Ennakl.
With an annual salary of more than 460,000 dinars (more than 38,000 dinars gross per month!), the CEO of this car dealership is by far the best paid of the four, according to the little information we have.
Ennakl’s board of directors is also the highest paid. In 2024, the automotive division of the Amen Bank group was no better paid than Artes, the car dealership subsidiary of the Mzabi group.
Remember that this ranking does not take into account the remuneration of unlisted dealerships. We do not have figures for all dealers, not all of whom are in favor of financial transparency.
