Aramex, a leading global provider of logistics solutions, has reported a revenue of AED1.571 billion ($427 million) in the second-quarter (Q2) of the year, up 21% from AED1.294 billion in Q2 2020, driven by increased demand for cross border e-commerce services and growth in the freight forwarding and logistics business.

Net profit for Q2 2021 decreased 31% to AED65.5 million compared to AED94.4 million in Q2 2020 as the business continued to invest in its digital transformation to drive further operating efficiencies and adapt to evolving consumer and industry trends.

Operating profit declined 21% to AED99.6 million year-on-year (YoY) on the back of the continued investments to build and secure capacity to accommodate for higher volumes and higher line haul costs caused by the disruptive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global supply chains.

H1 2021 financial overview

•    In Q2 2021, revenue rose 21% to, compared to AED1,294 million in the same period last year
•    In H1 2021, revenues were up 23% YoY to AED2,996 million, compared to AED2,445 million in H1 2020.
•    H1 2021 net profit decreased 31% to AED111.5 million, compared to AED161.8 million in H1 2020.
•    Operating profit during H1 2021 declined 21% YoY to AED179 million.
•    As a result of prudent financial management, Aramex maintained a strong balance sheet with negative net debt position of AED300 million, indicating a strong cash balance as at end June 30, 2021.

Othman Aljeda, Chief Executive Officer of Aramex, said: “The pandemic accelerated consumers’ online shopping behaviours and we were able to immediately capitalize on the shifting trends because our strategically-located global hubs enabled us to efficiently handle and deliver shipments from and to all over the world.”

“Our freight forwarding business witnessed a swift recovery to better than pre-pandemic levels thanks to our operational and commercial readiness to service the strong rebound in cyclical industries, specifically oil & gas and retail.

“Innovation and technology remain a key strategic area of focus for our business. Over the course of the year, we invested in upgrading our consumer facing and back-end systems to increase efficiency from first to last mile while ensuring we give our customers visibility and timely updates on shipment progress. We are also supporting the SME sector in more ways, enabling them to play a crucial role in economic growth and diversification,” he added.

Thomas Kipp, Chief Operating Officer at Aramex, said: “We continued to handle a growing number of shipments with an impressive growth momentum over the last three months from cross-border e-commerce.”

“This is a strong testament of the benefit of our global operations and network and our ability to continue securing capacity amidst constrained cargo space, especially air cargo. While the disconnect between cargo supply and demand have pushed line haul rates higher, with no visibility as to when those rates may abate, our role is to continue to find innovative and cost-efficient ways to overcome those pandemic-induced challenges and to optimize our operations.

“On the last mile, our on the ground operations have never been bigger and busier. We have been investing in growing our warehouse operations, fleet size and number of couriers in our core markets, especially in Saudi Arabia to service the growing demand for our last mile services,” he added.

Commenting on the outlook for the remainder of 2021, Othman Aljeda said: “We anticipate cross-border e-commerce activity to continue growing at a healthy pace and expect the global economic recovery will be sustained. As a facilitator of global e-commerce and trade, Aramex is well positioned to benefit from those growth drivers for the remainder of 2021.”

“Our strategy for the Express business is simple: we want to get closer to our customers and expedite delivery times by further expanding our last mile infrastructure and locations. We also want to improve our service levels and reliability by continuing to invest in game-changing technologies that will use data to improve predictions, automate scheduling, and optimize routes while improving customer interface and communication channels.

“For our B2B business, we will continue to strengthen our position in strategic verticals, to enable us to capture greater market share,” Aljeda added. – TradeArabia News Service