Indian air express market leader Blue Dart improved profits in the October – December 2014quarter thanks to stronger growth in the Indian economy and the continued rise of the country’s
e-commerce market.The company, 75% owned by DHL Express, increased operating revenues by 16.5% to nearly Rs 5.9billion (€84m). Operating profit rose by 18% to Rs 406 million (€5.8m), pushing the operatingprofit up slightly to 6.9%, while net profits improved by 17% to Rs 271 million (€3.9m).
From March to December 2014, Blue Dart revenues increased by 18% to Rs 16,975 million (€242.5million). Operating profit was 2% higher at Rs 1,410 million (€20.1m) but the profit margin droppedback to 8.3%, while net profit declined 2% to Rs 921 million (€13.2m).
Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart Express Limited said: “We have been able to sustainour growth momentum in our performance this quarter, irrespective of the challenging macro-economicenvironment. Our commitment to deliver excellent service quality, high customer satisfaction andinnovative methods to enhance our service offerings has been persistent. Going forward, we willdrive our business further through the widest range of innovative products and services with thesupport of our passionate people force, dedicated air and ground infrastructure and superiortechnology.”
Blue Dart, which was transferred from DHL Express to the new DHL eCommerce business unit lastyear, remains a mostly B2B express operator but is expanding its B2C services to take advantage ofe-commerce growth in India.
Earlier this month, Blue Dart denied Indian media reports that Amazon was interested inacquiring DHL’s 75% majority stake for a possible $2 billion under the e-commerce giant’s growthplans in India.
