Aramex revenues to hit $607mn this year

SOLID GROWTH: Aramex expects 2008 revenue growth of around 25%, Ghandour said. (ITP Images)

Aramex, the Middle East’s biggest courier service, expects to see revenues rise to around 2.23 billion dirhams ($607.1 million) this year, the company's CEO and founder told magazine Arabian Business on Sunday.

“We will be comfortable with revenue growth at about 25% [this year], and we like that - it’s a very healthy number,” Fadi Ghandour said, speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

For the year ending December 31, Aramex posted revenues of 1.78 billion dirhams, up 31% year-on-year, while net profit rose 28% to 121.6 million dirhams over the same period.

Revenues for the fourth quarter went up 23% to 495 million dirhams, with net profit increasing 20% to 32.1 million dirhams.

Shares in Aramex closed at 2.56 dirhams Sunday on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

The Dubai-based firm transports mail and packages throughout the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

The company is extending its operations beyond the Gulf and into countries including Morocco, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Founded by Ghandour in 1982, Aramex competes with international logistics and courier companies including United Parcel Service and FedEx.

Aramex was the first Arab-based company to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 1997. It later went private, before becoming a public company again on the DFM in 2005.

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