Dubai-listed courier firm Aramex saw its net profit plunge by 76% in the third quarter of the year, as revenue softened due to global headwinds.

Total net profit for the quarter reached 9.6 million dirhams ($2.6 million), compared to AED39.6 million in the same period last year, the company said in a disclosure on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

Aramex attributed more than half of the decline in net earnings to the steep increase in interest rates since its acquisition of global shipping and logistics firm MyUS last year for approximately $265 million.

Excluding the foreign exchange impact and the increase in finance loan expenses related to the acquisition, the firm’s normalized income for the quarter stood at AED30.4 million, a decline of 23% from the previous year.

The company’s total revenue for the quarter reached AED1.35 billion, down by 5% from the same period last year.  Gross profit went up by 4% to AED335 million.

“The slight softening in revenue can be attributed to global headwinds, FX translations and reduced retail activities,” said Othman Aljeda, CEO of Aramex.

“However, with the resilience of consumer spending in the GCC, the region continues to be a key driver of growth.”

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Brinda Darasha)
brinda.darasha@lseg.com