Dubai-based Aramex maintained a cautious outlook for the year due to ongoing unrest in the Middle East, its core market.
The firm said it made fourth-quarter net profit of 65.7 million dirhams ($17.9 million) for the three months to Dec. 31, up from 57.2 million dirhams in the prior-year period.
Revenue rose 20 percent to 814 million dirhams, in the quarter, from 681 million dirhams in the prior-year period.
Quarterly profit was driven robust gains in its core Gulf Arab region market as well as Southeast Asia , Aramex said.
The courier company, a favorite of regional fund managers, was forced to suspend operations in Egypt during the Arab Spring uprising in 2011. It also operates in other unrest hit countries like Libya and Syria.
It has been expanding in the Middle East and Africa and bought South Africa's Berco Express as well as Kenya's Oneworld Courier and In-Time Couriers last year.
"We will be looking at opportunities for acquisitions and joint ventures in our key target regions of Africa, Central Asia , and Asia ," Chief Executive Hussein Hachem , who took over daily operations from Aramex founder Fadi Ghandour last year, said in a statement.
Hachem said Aramex wants to capitalize on growing south-south trade by linking emerging markets in Asia with the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
For the year, Aramex had profit of 244.1 million dirhams on revenues of 3.1 billion dirhams, compared to profit of 211.5 million and sales of 2.6 billion dirhams in 2011. (Reuters)
