Agility to continue transformation in 2012

Global logistics company Agility has announced its annual and 4th quarter results. Overall for the year revenue fell by 17% to KWD1.330bn (€3.641bn/US$4.776bn), although ‚Net Profit‘ rose by 8% to KWD27m (€73.9m/$97m). Conditions appeared to be improving through the year with the 4th quarter seeing profits more than doubling year-on-year.
 
At the core ‚Global Integrated Logistics‘ business, 2011 revenue fell by 1.4%. However management commented that, excluding government and discontinued business, revenues rose by 3.2%. There appear to be no figures addressing profits for this business.
 
Agility commented that ‚Global Integrated Logistics‘ volumes have been growing despite "softened trade volumes that prevailed in the last two quarters of the year". In particular, it cites the growth of its Asia-Pacific business that, it says, has been growing in double digits over the past year.
 
It is also worth noting that Agility’s infrastructure business saw revenue grow by 18% year-on-year to KDW111.3m (€304m/US$400m) in 2011, although again there are not profit numbers for this business and the revenue figure excludes government-related business.
 
Agility is still in a state of recovery in terms of the collapse of its US defence related business. Implicitly it is emerging as a straightforward freight forwarder and contract logistics provider; with some infrastructure business in addition. However, it is still hard to ascertain both the direction and execution of this strategy.
 
Agility’s Chairman and Managing Director, Tarek Sultan comments in the statement that, "In 2011 and continuing into 2012, we are heavily focused on strengthening our core commercial business." He elaborates that the company sold the bulk of its vehicle fleet in the Middle East. It has also freed up warehousing space for commercial customers, and converted working capital to cash. This restructuring process, he states, will result in "solid gains in 2012 and beyond".
 
"Profits grew by 8% in 2011 even though revenues fell as Agility discontinued defence and government business. We are a different company today than we were a year ago, and we consider 2011 a new financial baseline against which we will measure future performance," said Tarek Sultan.

Quelle: eyefortransport

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