Egypt's GB Auto second-quarter profit more than doubles

Egypt's biggest listed vehicle assembler and distributor, GB Auto, posted a 148-percent rise in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, citing increased commercial vehicle sales and the expansion of its factories.

Sales of commercial vehicles and construction equipment more than doubled in comparison with the same period last year and Chief Executive Raouf Ghabbour said the Egyptian market was "on the rise", adding his company was planning further expansion.

The company is Egypt's sole dealer of Hyundai, Mazda and Geely passenger cars and the local distributor of three-wheeled vehicles known as "tuk-tuks" and motorbikes made by India's Bajaj. Business activity in Egypt grew in June after three months of contraction.

"Following years of unrest, the market is ready for a breakthrough, and we expect continued strong sales," he said. "After significant investment in our commercial vehicles manufacturing capacity, we are now seeing the pay-off."

Egypt's economy has been hit by more than three years of political crisis since a popular uprising in 2011. Last summer, bloody turmoil saw then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi oust freely-elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.