22 May 2003
In the past 15 months, Fadi Ali Ghandour, president and chief executive of Aramex International, has seen it all.
During this period, the air express company has passed through it share of fast-track acquisitions, and is now placed on the cusp of a major expansion of its international operations.
In an exclusive to Gulf News, Ghandour provides an overview of a frenetic 12 months and an insight into the future that looks just as compelling.
Could you provide an overview of Aramex's performance since it's acquisition by Rasmala Holdings. Where has the growth come from?
Since Aramex became a private company back in January, 2002, we have had an excellent year in terms of growth and execution of our expansion plan. Our revenues grew by about 18 per cent and we had two strategic acquisitions - Memo Express in the UAE and Jordan Distribution Agency (JDA) in Jordan.
Memo Express is one of the leading domestic operations in the UAE, and JDA is the only serious publications distributor in Jordan giving us an entry into new business opportunities and the possibility to expand the service regionally.
So, to say the least, this has been an exciting and very busy period for us.
There is constant speculation that Aramex might consider listing again on one of the regional bourses. Your comments.
Aramex will do what is best for its future and for its shareholders. At this stage there are no plans to list anywhere.
As the regional stock exchanges mature, open up and become more liquid, then that is where our preference will be for a future public listing.
Are there any markets within your coverage area that you believe may not be pulling their weight? If so, what are you doing to address this?
All Aramex operations are where we planned them to be.
The most exciting market for us at this stage is India and this is where we are going to be putting a lot of our energy in the future.
Are you considering moving into any new markets? if so, will it be through joint ventures or even acquisitions?
We are looking at a series of possible joint ventures, acquisitions or even franchises in strategic areas around the world.
As the global market continues to consolidate there are plenty of opportunities out there to expand and form alliances with independent local companies that need the support of a global brand and network and we think that we are able to fulfill such requirements.
You recently completed the takeover of Jordan Distribution Agency (JDA). Has this been fully integrated into your operations? What was the core consideration behind your takeover of the company?
JDA is a gem. It is 50 years old and it has an insurmountable position in the market of distributing publications in Jordan.
For us it was a great opportunity to enter the publication distribution business from the vantage point of a leader.
The integration is just about complete and we are already seeing a lot of operational benefits between Aramex and JDA, giving us cost savings and a lot of cross selling possibilities.
The short-term forecasts forecasts for the air express industry have been rated as dire. What is your prognosis? Are you considering any fleet acquisition/leasing?
Who says the short-term forecasts are dire? Even with the ware in Iraq we are still seeing some growth in the express business. Sure we would have seen much more growth but then again this is the region we live in.
There is nothing new, it is about perpetual conflicts, and if you want to do business here then you have to have an organization that is capable of structuring itself to adapt quickly to the changes and conflicts that happen in the neighborhood.
This has been the story of our life for the past 20 years.
Business continues as usual, and our fleet plans have not changed.
Your comments about the recent firming up of tariffs in the air express sector.
Costs have gone up because of security and fuel costs and we are able to adapt to these increases as much as we can without putting too much of a burden on the client. But sharing some of these cost increases with our clients it inevitable for the whole industry.
Your views on Aramex's growth over the next three years? Have you set any time plan as far as revenue targets are concerned? If so, what would it be?
Over the coming three years we would like to see double-digit growth in terms of revenue and operating incoming.
We think that by the end of 2005 we can have revenues of no less than $200 million from the current business. If we make a big acquisition, then we are talking about totally different numbers.
-Ends-
In the past 15 months, Fadi Ali Ghandour, president and chief executive of Aramex International, has seen it all.
During this period, the air express company has passed through it share of fast-track acquisitions, and is now placed on the cusp of a major expansion of its international operations.
In an exclusive to Gulf News, Ghandour provides an overview of a frenetic 12 months and an insight into the future that looks just as compelling.
Could you provide an overview of Aramex's performance since it's acquisition by Rasmala Holdings. Where has the growth come from?
Since Aramex became a private company back in January, 2002, we have had an excellent year in terms of growth and execution of our expansion plan. Our revenues grew by about 18 per cent and we had two strategic acquisitions - Memo Express in the UAE and Jordan Distribution Agency (JDA) in Jordan.
Memo Express is one of the leading domestic operations in the UAE, and JDA is the only serious publications distributor in Jordan giving us an entry into new business opportunities and the possibility to expand the service regionally.
So, to say the least, this has been an exciting and very busy period for us.
There is constant speculation that Aramex might consider listing again on one of the regional bourses. Your comments.
Aramex will do what is best for its future and for its shareholders. At this stage there are no plans to list anywhere.
As the regional stock exchanges mature, open up and become more liquid, then that is where our preference will be for a future public listing.
Are there any markets within your coverage area that you believe may not be pulling their weight? If so, what are you doing to address this?
All Aramex operations are where we planned them to be.
The most exciting market for us at this stage is India and this is where we are going to be putting a lot of our energy in the future.
Are you considering moving into any new markets? if so, will it be through joint ventures or even acquisitions?
We are looking at a series of possible joint ventures, acquisitions or even franchises in strategic areas around the world.
As the global market continues to consolidate there are plenty of opportunities out there to expand and form alliances with independent local companies that need the support of a global brand and network and we think that we are able to fulfill such requirements.
You recently completed the takeover of Jordan Distribution Agency (JDA). Has this been fully integrated into your operations? What was the core consideration behind your takeover of the company?
JDA is a gem. It is 50 years old and it has an insurmountable position in the market of distributing publications in Jordan.
For us it was a great opportunity to enter the publication distribution business from the vantage point of a leader.
The integration is just about complete and we are already seeing a lot of operational benefits between Aramex and JDA, giving us cost savings and a lot of cross selling possibilities.
The short-term forecasts forecasts for the air express industry have been rated as dire. What is your prognosis? Are you considering any fleet acquisition/leasing?
Who says the short-term forecasts are dire? Even with the ware in Iraq we are still seeing some growth in the express business. Sure we would have seen much more growth but then again this is the region we live in.
There is nothing new, it is about perpetual conflicts, and if you want to do business here then you have to have an organization that is capable of structuring itself to adapt quickly to the changes and conflicts that happen in the neighborhood.
This has been the story of our life for the past 20 years.
Business continues as usual, and our fleet plans have not changed.
Your comments about the recent firming up of tariffs in the air express sector.
Costs have gone up because of security and fuel costs and we are able to adapt to these increases as much as we can without putting too much of a burden on the client. But sharing some of these cost increases with our clients it inevitable for the whole industry.
Your views on Aramex's growth over the next three years? Have you set any time plan as far as revenue targets are concerned? If so, what would it be?
Over the coming three years we would like to see double-digit growth in terms of revenue and operating incoming.
We think that by the end of 2005 we can have revenues of no less than $200 million from the current business. If we make a big acquisition, then we are talking about totally different numbers.
-Ends-
© Press Release 2005
