Dubai’s Aramex posts 129% jump in Q4 net profit

Dubai-based courier Aramex said on Monday it was cautious in its outlook due to global economic uncertainties after reporting a 129 per cent jump in fourth-quarter net profit.

The company’s net profit rose to Dhs131.8m ($35.88m) in the three months to Dec. 31, from Dhs57.6m in the year-ago period, according to a bourse statement.

Chief Executive Hussein Hachem said while the firm was cautious, it looked forward to continuing its growth momentum.

EFG Hermes and SICO Bahrain had forecast that the firm would make a quarterly net profit of Dhs94m and Dhs77.5m, respectively.

Fourth quarter revenue rose to Dhs1.16bn from Dhs982m in the year-ago quarter.

Also read: Predictions 2017: Aramex CEO Hussein Hachem

Aramex said on October 3 it had established a joint venture e-commerce company with Australia Post, in a move that could herald a new expansion drive by the Dubai company.

In July, Dubai billionaire Mohamed Alabbar led two investor groups that bought a combined 16.45 per cent stake in Aramex, while Australia Post bought 4.5 per cent of Aramex around the same time.

An industry source said at the time that the Aramex stake was part of a strategy to build an e-commerce platform for the Arab world.

Alabbar has since announced two regional e-commerce sites, including Noon, which involves Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).