Aramex, a leading global provider of logistics solutions, has posted revenues of Dh3.83 billion ($1.04 billion) for 2015, marking an increase of 5 per cent over the revenues of Dh3.64 billion for the previous year.

Revenues in the fourth quarter (Q4) increased by 5 per cent to Dh1.003 billion, compared to Dh957 million in the corresponding period of 2014.

Exposure to major currency fluctuations, primarily the Euro, South African Rand and Australian Dollar, had a 4.4 per cent negative impact on full year revenues, which would have resulted in an increase of 9.4 per cent in total annual revenues and 8.5 per cent increase in Q4 revenues.

The company’s 2015 full year net profits decreased by 2 per cent to Dh311 million, compared to Dh318 million in 2014. Q4 net profits reached Dh57.6 million, which represent a decrease by 36 per cent, compared to Dh89.4 million in Q4 2014.

This decrease is due to a one time provision to account for an employees’ incentive scheme in order to retain and reward talented and senior executives, in-line with international best practices, a statement said.

Hussein Hachem, Aramex chief executive officer said: “We had another strong year and we are very happy with our 2015 results. Despite global economic uncertainty, substantial drop in oil prices and currency fluctuations, our 2015 performance was very solid in revenue growth, primarily in international and domestic express, led by continued expansion of our e-commerce business across key growth markets. Aramex has also achieved solid growth across its geographies, with the GCC remaining the largest contributor to revenues in 2015. ”

“Net profits were affected by a one-time provision for our incentive scheme for key Aramex employees. Excluding the impact of this provision, our net profits were strong - witnessing 12 per cent growth from 2014’s full year financial results - and are reflective of an ever increasingly, fundamentally robust business model and approach to the way we do business worldwide. We are excited about the positive growth trajectory we are on and will carry this momentum into 2016,” Hachem added.

“I am delighted to say that 2015’s fiscal performance prepared us well to execute our 2016 plans. 2015 was an important year for us to lay the groundwork for launching major initiatives which we are going to activate in 2016,” Hachem continued.

“While we continue to closely monitor global oil prices and currencies, we feel optimistic towards the outlook of 2016. We have already had a very exciting start by announcing the full buyout of Fastway Couriers’ operations in New Zealand and Australia. This was our biggest acquisition to date and will play a major role in expanding our reach and services to more customers worldwide.

“We will continue to look for future acquisitions in our key markets while exploring more ways to enhance our e-commerce platform through improved transit times due to the continued boom in cross-border e-commerce. We will soon be launching our new innovative app that will give the power to customers through higher visibility, payment flexibility, more locations delivery options and a rating system. We will also be unveiling soon a new Rapid Scaling Up model based on partnerships in cities around the world giving us access to delivery partners thanks to our innovation and technology,” concluded Hachem. – TradeArabia News Service