Dubai-based logistics firm, Aramex, has released its financial results for the half-year ended 30 June 2022.
For 1H 2022, Aramex reported a revenue of 2.97 billion AED, down 1.0 per cent year-on-year.
The performance drop of the Courier business was offset by progress in the Logistics and Freight Forwarding business units.
Revenue in Q2 2022 declined 3.0 per cent year-on-year to 1.52 billion AED due to lower Courier volumes.
In 1H 2022, net profit declined by 18 per cent year-on-year to 91.9 million AED which was mainly attributed to softer revenues, and also partially impacted by the exchange rate impact, namely the Lebanese Pound and Egyptian Pound.
Net Profit in Q2 declined 32 per cent to 44.6 million AED. Excluding the impact of write-offs from discontinued technologies and other one offs, normalised net profit for 1H 2022 decreased 13 per cent year-on-year to 96.9 million AED.
“One of the greatest changes we have seen in our business in the first half of 2022 is the change in our revenue mix,” said Aramex CEO, Othman Aljeda.
“Our Freight-Forwarding and Logistics business was the star performer, helping offset the softness we have seen in the Courier business.
“The double-digit top-line growth of Freight-Forwarding, and the growth in Logistics is owed to our strategic investment in expanding our operations and market share, and boosting our capabilities in that business. The organic growth year to date is predominately driven by high growth sectors such as industrials, SMEs, Retail and Pharmaceuticals.
“Our courier business is facing industry headwinds. Despite this, we have been able to protect and maintain our gross profit margin.
“The softness in e-commerce activity is a global, industry-wide trend as consumers returned to brick-and-mortar shopping as Covid restrictions eased. We are also seeing rising inflation rates globally, which puts downward pressure on discretionary spending.
“Going forward, our focus is on quality earnings and better efficiencies, by optimising resources, and strengthening our end-to-end product and service offering across Courier, Freight, Logistics, Warehousing, and Supply Chain.
“During the period, we announced the acquisition of MyUS, a global cross-border e-commerce enabler, which is set to bolster Aramex’s cross-border business and expand our geographic reach and footprint in the US, a key growth market. The transaction is expected to be fully completed during the third quarter of this year.”
Aramex Chief Operating Officer – Logistics & Freight-Forwarding, Mohammad Alkhas, said the Logistics and Freight-Forwarding business sustained a remarkable growth momentum as the business focused on capitalising on verticals where Aramex has a dominant position while adopting a solutions-oriented customer approach to attract new customers.
“During the period, we continued our efforts to enable global trade and enhance connectivity, as well as consolidated trade lanes between Europe and the Middle East,” he said. “We also progressed our digital strategy to drive efficiencies across the business including automation, optimisation of storage methods, and wider improvements in our IT and data systems.”