Aramex, a leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, today announces its financial results for first quarter ended March 31, 2019. Aramex's Q1 2019 Revenues grew by 4% to AED1,234 million, compared to AED1,190 million in Q1 2018. Revenues would have grown by 8% excluding the impact from currency fluctuations, mainly in the Libyan Dinar, South African Rand and Australian Dollar; and the company's strategic restructuring of its domestic operations in India. Net profit for the quarter rose by 4% to reach AED108 million, compared to AED103 million in Q1 2018. Net profit was negatively impacted by the amount of AED10.6 million due to the implementation of IFRS16 and currency fluctuations. However, Aramex's strategic restructuring of domestic operations in India delivered a positive contribution of AED6.7 million to net income. Excluding those impacts, the bottom line would have grown by 8%. Bashar Obeid, Chief Executive Officer of Aramex, said: "We continue to benefit from the healthy growth in global e-commerce volumes; however, we have started witnessing pressure on International Express margins due to lower and more competitive pricing. Our key priorities for this year are to continue to invest in upgrading our service level across all our core markets, while progressing aggressively in executing our digital transformation roadmap. This will help us boost operational efficiencies to cater for rapidly changing e-commerce business requirements, including faster shipping and delivery solutions at lower costs. "Our Integrated Logistics and Supply Chain Management business had a great quarter, thanks to our efforts to mobilize assets and resources to capitalize on the increase in demand for those services, especially from regional retailers aiming to boost their online sales." Iyad Kamal, Chief Operating Officer at Aramex, added: "In Q1 2019, we continued to improve operating efficiencies and accelerated our digital transformation efforts in order to enhance service levels, especially in the last-mile delivery. These initiatives will help us win in the long-term, as we will be able to handle more capacity more efficiently and at a lower cost. Another trend that positively impacted our business this quarter was the entrance of major Middle East retailers into the online sales space as part of an omni-channel approach, which is why we are investing in servicing this promising market. We also launched our new, partially automated fulfillment center at Dubai Logistics City, which has improved our logistics and supply chain management solutions and offering." "Our operating expenses have increased by 8% in Q1 2019 following the expansion of our infrastructure in key markets like Saudi Arabia. Today, we have more than 150 pick-up points across Saudi Arabia with aggressive plans to further expand our presence, in an effort to make it as convenient as possible for customers to pick up their packages and ship with Aramex." Aramex's cross-border International Express business grew by 7% to AED 533 million. This performance is mainly attributed to the continuous growth in cross-border e-commerce, which registered double-digit growth across most of Aramex's markets, mainly Turkey, Asia and North America. Shipment volumes surged by 22% in Q1 2019, yet lower margins prevailed. The Domestic Express business dropped by 3% to AED 257 million, due in large part to the strategic restructuring in India and fluctuations in foreign currency, mainly in the South African Rand and Australian Dollar. Excluding those factors, the business would have grown by 7%. The e-commerce Domestic Express business performed very well in GCC markets, and registered double-digit growth especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Freight Forwarding growth stabilized at 1% to AED 287 million, with Oil & Gas segment experiencing strong double-digit growth. The Integrated Logistics & Supply Chain Solutions business experienced strong growth of 23% to AED 85 million, owed in large part to Aramex's efforts to service the major regional retailers' strong appetite to tap into omni-channel sales model, which led to strong demand for warehousing, sorting, and last mile delivery solutions. — SG
