Agility has reported a net profit of 15.17 million Kuwaiti Dinar (KD) ($49.8 million) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2016 – an increase of 11 per cent compared to Q3 of 2015.
The Kuwaiti freight forwarder’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was 28.90 million KD, a 19 per cent rise on the same period in 2015. Revenues were 312 million KD, a seven per cent decrease over Q3 last year.
Agility says revenue for its Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) division was 228.65 million KD in Q3 2016, an eight per cent decline from Q3 of 2015.
The company says GIL continued to see growth in demand for contract logistics in emerging markets and in airfreight the business “grew considerably” in terms of volume with a tougher yield compared to the prior year quarter, resulting in flat net revenue.
The main impact to net revenue shortfall remains in the general slowdown in its project logistics business as a result of the slowdown in the oil and gas market.
Agility chief executive officer, Tarek Sultan says: “We have now been seeing continuous underlying increase in the profitability of the business. This is driven by steady progress in turning around our Global Integrated Logistics business, as well as by continued financial performance and growth in our Infrastructure group of companies.
“We continue to make gains in the face of a challenging business context: from sluggish economic and trade growth in key regions to political uncertainty in others. I attribute Agility’s gains to sharper strategic focus and ongoing commitment to financial discipline, even as we invest in the markets, products, and technologies that will transform our business and help us continue to lead in the future.”
In his future outlook, Sultan notes: “The world around us will continue to pose challenges. Trade forecasts are gloomy and geopolitical uncertainty prevails in key geographies for our business. While we cannot control the external environment, we can make strategic choices in order to continue to grow our business and maximize shareholder value even in the face of these challenges.
“Our choices over the last few years to strengthen our operating platform, aggressively manage our cost structure, and invest in high-growth markets, products and verticals, are driving our positive results.”
