Agility growth steady in 'soft' market

Revenues and EBITDA for the same period stood at KWD335 million (USD1.1 billion) and KWD24.4 million (USD80.3 million) respectively.

For the first nine months of 2015, Agility posted a profit of KWD39 million (USD128 million), which also represents a 5 percent year-on-year increase.

"The global logistics market remains soft as the result of flat or declining trade volumes and weakness in key economies around the world," said Agility ceo Tarek Sultan.

"Even so, we have continued to make gains in our core commercial logistics business because we have found ways to be more efficient, improve productivity, demonstrate financial discipline and make operations more responsive to the marketplace and customers' needs."

Revenue for Agility Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) in the third quarter of 2015 was KWD248.2 million (USD816.9 million). On a constant currency basis this represents a 3 percent decrease compared with the third quarter of 2014, which Agility attributed mainly to a softening in airfreight volumes.

The overall logistics sector turned in a mixed performance in this quarter, said the company. Even though airfreight was down; ocean freight, contract logistics, chemicals, and fairs & events continued to grow.

"We are making tangible gains in our business performance," said Sultan. "We have a clear strategy and are building the necessary disciplines."

He added: "As the global economic performance remains to be challenging for the industry, Agility chooses to focus on factors that can be controlled, such as our strategic investment choices, and the countries, verticals and products with long-term potential. We remain committed to internal transformation because we know we make gains in productivity and operate more efficiently if we make smart use of technology, re-engineer our processes, and demonstrate that we understand our customers."

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