Reports 2019 net profit of US$ 284mn
Agility, the Kuwait-headquartered global logistics provider, recently reported 2019 net profit of KD 86.8mn (US$ 284mn), an increase of 7% from 2018. Revenue for the year reached KD 1,578.6mn (US$ 5152.6mn) and EBITDA was KD 193.1mn (US$ 630.3mn), increases of 1.8% and 24.7%, respectively.
For the fourth quarter 2019, Agility reported a net profit of KD 23.2mn (US$ 75.73mn), an increase of 4.4% over Q4 2018.
“Global trade tensions, regional economic uncertainty, and financial market pressure in emerging markets all contributed to a challenging year for our logistics business. Internally, the costs associated with our investment in digitization also had an impact; one that we believe will continue in 2020,” remarked Tarek Sultan, Agility Vice Chairman and CEO.
Beyond digital, emerging markets also remain a key investment focus. This includes building logistics parks across the Middle East and Africa, the Reem mega-mall project in Abu Dhabi, bringing on new ocean vessels and fuel farms through our fuel logistics subsidiary, and growing rapidly in Africa through our airport services subsidiary.
“We move into 2020 cognizant that we are likely to see volatility in the global economy that may impact our logistics business, as well as slower market activities in certain markets in the Middle East and Africa that may affect certain portfolio companies. That said, we are confident that despite these challenges, we are well-positioned to navigate through them,” Sultan stated.
Q4 Air Freight volume decreased by 7% (in tonnage) as a result of falling trade volumes and lower demand from customers across industries and geographies.
Ocean Freight TEUs grew 1.9%, but Q4 yields declined 2.2% vs. the same period in 2018. GIL Ocean Freight yields were strongest in the Americas and Europe.
Contract Logistics achieved healthy growth, mainly in the MEA Region (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia) but also in the US, Australasia and Singapore. Project Logistics also showed solid growth in multiple countries.
