Agility’s profits up

AGILITY’s overall profits climbed 37 per cent to KD46.2m (US$164.09m) in 2013, despite revenue from its core Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) business falling by 4.5 per cent.
Tarek Sultan, chairman and managing director, blamed the decline on “underlying challenges in the freight forwarding industry, including difficult airfreight conditions and falling ocean freight rates despite increased volume”.
But he was quick to point out: “GIL improved its net revenues margin from 21 per cent in 2012 to 22 per cent in 2013 by driving productivity improvement in its business.”
The global logistic company’s board of directors proposed a cash dividend of 40 per cent and five per cent bonus shares for the fiscal year 2013.
“Agility is continuing to gain strong ground. We will continue to grow along two main fronts. Firstly, by improving performance in our core Global Integrated Logistics business through technology-driven transformation, on-going focus on global accounts and field sales and maintaining financial discipline,” adds Sultan.
“Secondly, by growing the individual companies within our infrastructure portfolio, expanding their global reach, as well as diversifying their customer base. The economic outlook may be uncertain, but we will continue to focus on what we can control,” he notes.