Aramex, recently reported a 38 percent year-on-year jump in its net profit for the third quarter of 2018 as revenues rose amid growth in the e-commerce sector.
The company’s profits reached Dh113 million in the quarter, Aramex said. This bring net profit for the first nine months of 2018 to Dh339 million, an increase of 25 per cent over the Dh270 million recorded in the same nine months of 2017.
The increase in earnings came as revenues for the third quarter went up 8 per cent to Dh1.24 billion. Revenues for the first nine months were also 8 per cent higher year-on-year, at Dh3.66 billion.
“The boom is global e-commerce continues to fuel the growth of our top line, with our International Express business growing by an impressive 18 percent for the period,” said Bashar Obeid, Aramex’s chief executive officer.
In its statement, Aramex said it is “well positioned to continue this growth momentum,” adding that it plans to continue focusing on freight-forwarding capabilities and business-to-business capabilities.
“We expect to end the year on a solid footing. I am also very optimistic about the growth in the global e-commerce business and will continue to focus efforts on optimal means to capture those rising and evolving opportunities,” Obeid said.
He added that Aramex will also focus on enhancing its customer service through investing in technology and digitisation.
In the third quarter, Aramex’s International Express segment saw double-digit growth due to growth in e-commerce globally, but most notably from Asia and Turkey.
The company said that despite growth across most of its core markets, quarterly performance was impacted by the downscaling of operations in India as part of restructuring as well as by currency fluctuations, mainly that of the Australian dollar.
German logistics giant DHL Express recently announced that it will increase its investment in China, including expanding service facilities in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, and increasing freight flight services from South China to Germany.
As reported by a Chinese local newspaper, DHL plans to raise the service frequency of its new air cargo service route between Shenzhen, Guangdong to Leipzig, Germany from twice a week to six times a week in the first half of 2019. The first flight on the new route took off Friday morning.
The company’s announcement came after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Party’s core leadership, on Wednesday. The top leadership said China would continue to proactively attract foreign investment and safeguard the legitimate interests of foreign-invested businesses in order to shore up the economy.
Propelled by an increase in flights and seat capacity Dubai World Central (DWC) passenger traffic surged 26.1% in the third quarter. DWC welcomed 119,000 customers during the period bringing the total number of customers welcomed this year to 637,176 (-1.9%).
The top regions contributing to customer numbers at DWC include Western Europe (40,349 passengers) and Eastern Europe (38,740 passengers). Some of the top destination cities during the third quarter were Beirut (20,566 passengers), Amman (16,216 passengers), and Katowice (10,247 passengers).
Flight movements during Q3 totaled 5,742 (-11.7%). A total of 21,811 flights have taken-off or landed at DWC (-12.3%) so far this year.
In Q3 a total of 254,421 tons of airfreight moved through DWC (-2.5%), bringing the year to date cargo tonnage to 729,611 (+3.5%). DWC is the world’s 22nd busiest hub by international freight volume according to the Airports Council International (ACI).
The outlook for passenger traffic at DWC in Q4 is positive thanks to the seasonal rush of tourists typically seen during the winter months, as well as the launch of new services from scheduled and charter carriers. Also contributing to the positive outlook is the recent launch of daily scheduled flights to Moscow by Aeroflot while Pegas Fly (Ikar Airlines) commenced charter services from multiple destinations in Russia.
Following the launch of flights by Aeroflot and Pegas Fly, the number of international passenger airlines serving DWC has increased to 10. The airlines operate an average of 21 weekly flights to six international destinations. DWC is also home to 20 cargo operators that fly to as many as 45 destinations around the world.
Emirates SkyCargo has become a leader in Sri Lankan exports, transporting 23 percent – 27,000 tons – of the island’s total of 118,000 tons in exports in its 2017-18 fiscal year.
Sri Lanka is a major exporter of fruits, vegetables, flowers and seafood, which are in demand all over the world, from Northern Europe to Southeast Asia to East Africa. In 2017-18, Emirates SkyCargo carried more than 7,500 tons of fish and shellfish – about 40 percent of the 17,500 tonnes of seafood that Sri Lanka exported – to the United States and Europe, specifically to the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
The Middle East is one of the main import markets of fruits and vegetables from Sri Lanka. The Maldives, UK, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Seychelles are also regular importers of the country’s fresh produce.
The airline has become a prominent carrier of perishable cargo. Its “Emirates Fresh” services are underpinned by its temperature-controlled facilities in its Dubai hub (DXB), a 4.5-hour flight from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) in Colombo, and its pharma corridor system, launched in January, which links destinations in its network with strict end-to-end temperature control.
The carrier operates 28 flights per week in and out of CMB, carrying 20 tons per flight in the belly of its 777 passenger aircraft. It operates a fleet of 257 widebody passenger aircraft and 14 freighters.
Etihad Cargo, this week celebrated a significant moment in its relatively short 14-year history, fully migrating to ‘SPRINT’, an IBS iCargo fully integrated technology platform offering the digital answer to its evolving cargo management needs.
Etihad Cargo joins a growing number of global carriers migrating their traditionally telephone and paper-based services online, through its new-look and revamped etihadcargo.com website, as well as digitalizing processes across all critical business functions, offering Etihad Cargo’s customers a platform to seamlessly manage all air cargo needs.
Abdulla Mohamed Shadid, Etihad Airways Managing Director Cargo and Logistics Services, said, “We are extremely pleased that the 12-month implementation process has been concluded successfully, and even more excited at the prospects that this milestone brings. It represents a giant leap forward for our customer value proposition and allows us to embrace a whole new realm of digital services to further differentiate ourselves. Customers will feel the impact instantly, and it comes at a well-timed period when we have started deploying capacity in key markets for the fourth quarter.”
SPRINT, based on IBS’s iCargo technology platform, combines booking and reservations, integration management including interface control, service delivery management (including messaging and eAWB support), loyalty management, AWB stock control and revenue accounting, all into a single integrated platform. It enables Etihad Cargo to enhance its capacity- and pricing management processes whilst offering real-time shipment monitoring and quality control, helping drive maximum efficiency.
V K Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group, said, “Etihad Cargo has commissioned the most up-to-date technology solution in the domain, iCargo, and the seamless system cutover within time and budget reiterates IBS’ capability and domain expertise to deliver outstanding value to the business requirements of some of the iconic names in the airline industry.
“iCargo has indeed captured the imagination of the cargo carriers and is now the undisputed market leader and the right IT platform to provide airlines with a competitive edge to lead in a digital world. It is my pleasure to welcome Etihad Cargo to the growing list of iCargo users and we are committed to be a transformational partner in their quest to achieve increased operational efficiencies, cost optimization and growth.”
Services that are now available at the customer’s fingertips span online bookings across all Etihad’s product portfolio, including general cargo as well as its signature TempCheck (pharmaceutical), SafeGuard (valuables), FreshForward (perishables), FlightValet (automotive) and FlyCulture (arts and music), among others. Customers will also be able to access Etihad Cargo’s Loyalty Program, which offers them a wide range of benefits now accessible online, and they will also be able search flights and track shipments in real-time.
“Our employees worked tirelessly during the past year to bring us to this significant milestone and should be proud of their achievement,” added Shadid. “Seldom do complex programs like this finish on time and within budget. We are certainly proud of them. However, this only marks the beginning of our digitalization journey. Etihad Cargo is hungry for more, and we will be working with our technology partners to deploy new technologies that will continue to differentiate us and help push our customer value proposition to the next level”.
Saudi Airlines Cargo Company has once again helped bring World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event to the Kingdom by transporting all the equipment and supplies for the long-anticipated Crown Jewel tournament to Riyadh.
The WWE event, which millions of wrestling enthusiasts look forward to, will go ahead on time and as planned thanks to its highly-advanced logistics capabilities of the cargo company and its dedicated operations team.
Organized by the General Sports Authority, the Crown Jewel event will be held tomorrow (Friday) at King Saud University stadium in Riyadh with the participation of the best professional wrestlers in the world.
Saudia Cargo B747-8 transported the 100-ton equipment and machinery together with sound and lighting systems and other supplies from Maastricht, Netherlands, to Riyadh in mid-October.
Last April, the company transported the WWE heavy equipment and machinery including the parts of the wrestling ring from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Jeddah, where the WWE event took place.
Saudia Cargo boasts a state-of-the-art freighter fleet with large aircraft in addition to its capacity available on passenger airplanes. The company operate flights to various international destinations, offers charter services and delivers cost-effective solutions for myriad logistic services.
Technology has made the world smaller and faster.Real time communication with people from all over the world at different time zones through phones and gadgets
