Aramex Q2 net profit up 12% to Dh80.8m

Aramex, the logistics and transportation solutions provider, today announced that its net profit in the first half of 2014 increased 13 per cent to Dh159.5 million compared to Dh141.6 million for the same period last year.

Revenues increased to Dh1,768 million, up 7% compared to Dh1,647 million in the corresponding period of 2013.

Q2 revenues increased to Dh917 million compared to Dh843m, up by 9 per cent. While Q2 net profit rose 12 per cent to Dh80.8m compared to Dh72.3m for the same period last year.

Aramex’s results include a one-off cost of Dh5.642 million related to the Australian Mail Call acquisition which was recorded in June 2014.

Aramex delivered broad-based revenue growth across its geographies, with the GCC the key driver of this growth, complemented by much stronger performances from its operations in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, as economic conditions improved and the volumes of international and domestic trade increased. Africa remains vital to Aramex’s expansion strategy and to its global network, as it continues to bridge new emerging market trade corridors.

Across Aramex’s revenues from freight remained flat due to the continuing competitive nature of the segment, while logistics recorded a particularly strong performance, due to continued robust demand for retail and oil and gas services.

Significant revenue growth was recorded from both International Express and Domestic Express, with International Express in particular delivering a very strong performance on the back of a continued increase in demand for global online shopping services across international markets.

Hussein Hachem, Aramex Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have once again delivered an excellent set of results. Our net profits for the first half and second quarter of the year, excluding the one-off cost of acquiring Mail Call, are Dh165.2 million, and Dh86.5 million respectively reflecting 17% and 20% growth over the same period last year. We are particularly pleased with the performance of our e-commerce business and how we continue to seize the considerable international opportunities in this sector.

“The performances of our operations in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa have also been encouraging, diversifying our revenue streams. Through the first half of the year, we have focused on building considerable scale in these growth markets by investing in our infrastructure, in addition to acquiring niche Australian express company Mail Call and signing an important Joint Venture with InPost, which will see the introduction of parcel lockers for the first time to the Middle East.”

Commenting on Aramex’s outlook for the remainder of 2014, Hussein Hachem stated: “We are very confident in carrying our excellent performance through the second half of 2014. Our strategic focus for the second half of the year remains consistent. Following our acquisition of Mail Call, we will   look for other opportunities to invest in companies with suitable, scalable synergies, in line with our stated expansion plans, capitalising on our asset-light operating model and global alliance network. We will also invest in a number of initiatives to deepen our client services proposition, focusing on upgrading our logistics infrastructure.”

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