Aramex a leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, today announced its financial results for the second quarter (Q2) and first half (H1) ending 30 June 2021.
Q2 2021 & H1 2021 Financial Overview
In Q2 2021, Revenue rose 21% to $428 million, compared to $352 million in the same period last year driven by increased demand for cross border e-commerce services and significant growth in the freight forwarding and logistics business.
In H1 2021, Revenues were up 23% YoY to $816 million, compared to $666 million in H1 2020.
Net Profit for Q2 2021 decreased 31% to $18 million compared to $26 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.
H1 2021 Net Profit decreased 31% to $30.4 million, compared to $44 million in H1 2020.
Q2 2021 Operating Profit declined 21% to $27 million 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 COVD-19 pandemic on global supply chains. For the six-month period ending 30 June 2021, Operating Profit declined 21% YoY to $49 million.
As a result of prudent financial management, Aramex maintained a strong balance sheet with negative net debt position of $82 million, indicating a strong cash balance as at end 30 June 2021.
Othman Aljeda, Chief Executive Officer of Aramex, said:“I am pleased with our performance in the first half of the year and encouraged by the double-digit growth in almost all our services.
"The pandemic accelerated consumers’ online shopping behaviors 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.
"I am also very proud of the outstanding work all our employees have produced and thank them for successfully steering the company through the last 18 challenging months.”
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 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.”