Aramex has unveiled record results for the first half of 2014, driven by strong express andlogistics growth and e-commerce expansion, and has reiterated its appetite for further
acquisitions.The Middle East-based group increased half-year revenues by 7% to AED 1,768 million (€358m)while net profits rose by 13% to AED 159.5 million (€32.3m).
Following a robust Q1 performance, when revenues grew by 6% and net profits by 14%, strongmomentum in the business continued through the second quarter, the company said. Q2 revenuesincreased by 9% to AED 917 million (€186m) and net profits rose 12% to AED 80.8 million(€16.4m).
Aramex noted that its results included a one-off cost of AED 5.6 million (€1.1m) related to theacquisition of Australian same-day delivery firm Mail Call Couriers, which was recorded in June2014.
Outlining its half-year business trends, Aramex said it delivered broad-based revenue growthacross its geographies, with the GCC region the key driver of this growth, complemented by muchstronger performances from its operations in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, as economicconditions improved and the volumes of international and domestic trade increased. Africa remainsvital to Aramex’s expansion strategy and to its global network, as it continues to bridge newemerging market trade corridors.
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 acontinued increase in demand for global online shopping services across international markets, thecompany said.
Revenues from Freight Forwarding remained flat, primarily due to the continuing competitivenature of the segment, while Logistics recorded a particularly strong performance, due to continuedrobust demand for retail and oil and gas services.
In 2013, Aramex’s Freight Forwarding revenues totalled AED 1,235 million, which was 37% of thecompany’s overall turnover of AED 3,325 million, the annual report showed. International Expressrevenues of AED 1,057 million represented 32%, Domestic Express accounted for 19% with AED 645million and Logistics contributed 5% of revenues with AED 170 million. The Middle East and Africaaccounted for 75% of overall company revenues followed by Europe (15%) and Asia (7%).
CEO Hussein Hachem commented: “We have once again delivered an excellent set of results. Our netprofits for the first half and second quarter of the year, excluding the one-off cost of acquiringMail Call, are AED 165.2 million, and AED 86.5 million respectively reflecting 17% and 20% growthover the same period last year.
“We are particularly pleased with the performance of our e-commerce business and how we continueto seize the considerable international opportunities in this sector. The performances of ouroperations in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa have also been encouraging, diversifying our revenuestreams. Through the first half of the year, we have focused on building considerable scale inthese growth markets by investing in our infrastructure, in addition to acquiring niche Australianexpress company Mail Call and signing an important Joint Venture with InPost, which will see theintroduction of parcel lockers for the first time to the Middle East.”
Mail Call will strengthen Aramex’s Asia-Pacific proposition, providing opportunities to furtherdevelop and grow the group’s global e-commerce proposition and providing Aramex with important,technology-driven delivery capabilities in Australia.
Commenting on the outlook for the remainder of 2014, Hachem stated: “We are very confident incarrying our excellent performance through the second half of 2014. Our strategic focus for thesecond half of the year remains consistent.
He added: “Following our acquisition of Mail Call, we will look for other opportunities toinvest 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 ina number of initiatives to deepen our client services proposition, focusing on upgrading ourlogistics infrastructure.”
