Aramex revenue down 5% at Dh2.8 billion in H1 2023, net profit drops 53%

Dubai: Logistics and transportation solutions provider Aramex reported revenue of Dh2.8 billion in H1 2023, a 5 per cent decline year-on-year, it said on Wednesday.

Net profit for the period stood at Dh42.87 million, a 53 per cent drop from the year-ago period.

The company attributed the decrease to a “trickle-down impact from topline softening, as well as an increase in finance expenses associated with the MyUS acquisition”.

Othman Aljeda, CEO of Aramex, said: “Reflecting on Aramex’s financial results for the first half of 2023, we performed robustly, despite continued challenges in an environment characterised by cost inflation, lower freight rates, softening shipment volumes and FX fluctuations.”

The company’s International Express business reported Dh372 million in gross profit for H1 2023, a YoY increase of 1 per cent, whereas the year-on-year revenue and gross profit for the Domestic Express business faced downward pressures during both the half-year period and Q2 due to foreign exchange translation. Excluding foreign exchange impact, revenue grew 3 per cent during the second quarter.

In line with the global industry trend of softening volumes, the group’s Q2 2023 revenue also declined by 8 per cent. However, excluding the currency exchange impact, Q2 revenue fell by 5 per cent.

“Worth noting that Q2 2023 had fewer working days, mainly due to the shift of Islamic public holidays observed in certain markets during the quarter, compared to the same period of last year where these public holidays fell during Q3 2022,” the company said in a statement.

Overall gross profit margin stood at 25 per cent over both the half year and second quarter periods, despite a 3 per cent and 9 per cent year-on-year reduction in gross profit for H1 and Q2 2023, respectively.