Aramex H1 2018 revenue peaks at AED2.42bn, net profit at AED226mn

Aramex, the leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, today announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half year ended 30th June 2018.

Aramex’s Q2 2018 net profit surged by 26% to AED122mn, compared to AED97mn in Q2 2017, and the company’s net profit in the first half of 2018 increased by 20% to AED225.7mn, compared to AED188.7mn for the same period of 2017.

Revenues for the quarter rose by 7% to AED1.232bn, compared to AED1.147bn in the corresponding period of 2017. H1 2018 revenue reached AED2.422bn, up by 7% compared to AED2.253bn in the same period 2017.

Commenting on the results, Bashar Obeid, chief executive officer of Aramex, said: “We are extremely pleased with our results this quarter, which are attributed to the increase in demand for our services across most of our businesses and to our restructuring efforts. We continue to witness a boom in the global e-commerce market, and have been able to reap the benefits of that trend by boosting our investments in last-mile delivery solutions while enhancing our service levels. We also had encouraging growth in our freight forwarding services specifically from the oil and gas segment, which enjoyed a double-digit growth this quarter.

“Moving forward, we will continue to deliver on our digital transformation strategy. We are confident our efforts will reflect positively on our financial performance while enabling us to drive efficiencies and improve our processes by trimming costs and becoming leaner, which will ultimately enhance the customer experience and expand our bottom line.”

Iyad Kamal, chief operating officer at Aramex, added: “We are very proud of the progress we have made this year in enhancing our service levels and efficiently meeting the last-mile capacity needs of our clients globally. This year, we have significantly improved our service levels and transit times both, globally and regionally, which is a direct reflection of our investments in delivery capabilities and entering into strong, strategic partnerships to upgrade our services in Europe and the Americas.

“Innovation, which is a key pillar of our strategy, continues to drive solutions across the company’s operations to boost customer experience and maximise efficiencies.”

Q2 2018 performance

According to the company, Aramex’s International Express witnessed excellent growth in Q2, up by 10% to AED528mn compared to the prior year period. This strong performance is mainly attributed to the continued growth in cross-border e-commerce across the company’s key markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Aramex’s operations in Southeast Asia is diversifying well in terms of acquiring new customers, which are targeting online shoppers in the Middle East, despite the lower than expected performance this quarter.

In Q2, the Domestic Express business grew 6% to AED262mn, compared to Q2 2017. E-commerce continues to fuel double-digit growth in most of Aramex’s core markets, namely: Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Africa. The strong growth in Domestic Express was negatively impacted by the drop in business from the company’s operations in India.

Aramex’s Freight-Forwarding business rose by 1%, to AED296mn, where most of the growth was contributed by strong demand from Oil and Gas customers.

The company’s Logistics and Supply Chain Management business increased by 16% to AED73mn. The growth is attributable to the growth of business across all regions, mainly UAE, KSA, North Africa and Singapore.

HY1 2018 performance

Aramex’s International Express business grew by 10% to AED1.028bn, due to the strong growth in cross-border e-commerce across most regions.

Domestic Express business grew 8% to reach AED527mn, which was attributed to the continuous growth of domestic e-commerce across most markets, especially in the GCC.

Growth in the oil and gas business across most regions, mainly GCC and Africa, together with a strong performance in Asia helped Aramex’s freight-forwarding business rise by 2% to AED579mn.

Aramex’s Logistics and Supply Chain Management business increased by 13% to AED142mn, as a result of the growth of business in key markets, most notably UAE, KSA, North Africa and Singapore.

Commenting on Aramex’s outlook for the remainder of 2018, Obeid said: “We are on-track to deliver strong results this year, as we continue to focus on strategic initiatives to transform our business into a technology-driven enterprise and uplift operational efficiencies. While e-commerce continues to drive the growth of our express business, we are strategically committed to expanding our B2B and freight forwarding capabilities to leverage great business opportunities in our markets starting with the oil and gas segment.”