Agility see Q3 airfreight volumes fall
14 / 11 / 2019
Logistics and infrastructure company Agility has announced Q3 results showing falling airfreight volumes amidst “challenging market conditions” for its Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) business.
Although the Kuwait-based company reported an overall 1.6% increase in Q3 revenue to KD 400.7 million, air freight net revenue fell 2.8% compared with the same quarter in 2018. Tonnage fell 15.8% “as a result of trade concerns and lower demand from customers across industries and geographies”. But this was partially offset by higher yields – expressed as net revenue/ton – which increased 15.5%.
“Our Infrastructure portfolio of companies drove our results in the third quarter, with all major entities seeing growth,” said Tarek Sultan, Agility vice chairman and chief executive. “Our GIL business, on the other hand, was affected by challenging market conditions and trade war headwinds that have affected the industry as a whole.”
GIL earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was KD 7.8 million (excluding IFRS 16 impact), a 1% decline from same period in 2018. Agility said the decrease was due to higher operating expenses related to new facilities, as well as investments in digital transformation.
Sultan said: “We continue to invest in technology-driven change and seek to be the digital leaders in our industry. Our Agility Ventures team is partnering with innovative start-ups that are re-shaping the supply chain in areas ranging from green technologies to e-commerce.
“We are also accelerating in-house development, acquisitions and partnerships to grow our digital logistics platform, Shipa. We believe this is the key to differentiating Agility and positioning us for future growth.”
Year to date, earnings were 38.2 fils per share and net profit was KD 63.6 million, up 7.9% (or 11.3% excluding IFRS 16 impact). Year-to-date EBITDA was KD 142.4 million, an increase of 24.9% (or 6.4% excluding IFRS 16 impact). Revenue for the first three quarters was KD 1,175.8 million, an increase of 2.2%.
