Aramex reports 15% increase in Q4 profit

Aramex, the largest courier company in the Middle East and North Africa, reported a fourth net profit increase of 15 percent as revenue grew on the on the back of ecommerce and buoyant economies in the Gulf states and Asia.

The global logistics and transportation provider said it had a net profit of AED65.7m (US$17.9m) in the quarter compared with AED57.2m in the same period a year ago. The company’s revenues increased 20 percent in the period to AED814m from AED681m in the same quarter a year earlier.

"Our operations in core markets, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and South East Asia, remain robust while our operations in Africa continue to show promising growth, in particular after the acquisition of Berco Express in South Africa in December 2011," Hussein Hachem, Aramex’s CEO said in a statement.

Aramex said full year 2012 profit grew 15 percent to AED244.1m from AED211.5m in 2011. The company’s revenues climbed 21 percent to AED3bn, from AED2.57bn in the previous year.

The company said investment and upgrade of its existing logistics infrastructure in key markets and the start of a number of new logistics facilities, to serve the growing ecommerce industry, helped it achieve double digit growth in revenues and volume and provide a boost to the company’s operations in the oil and gas sectors.