Agility reports flat profits, higher sales

   Agility, the Kuwait-based logistics company provider, said it had a profit of 7.8 million Kuwait dinar ($27.6 million) in the second quarter 2012, about equal to what it earned in the same period in 2011.
   Revenue in the quarter was 348.8 million dinar, 6 percent more than the 330.6 dinar recorded in the same 2011 period.
   “We started 2012 off on the right track, and our mid-year results show that both our internal transformation and business development efforts are paying off,” said Tarek Sultan, Agility’s chairman and managing director, in a statement. Agility had EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) adjusted for one-off impacts of 20.3 million dinar, which he said was a 63 percent improvement relative to the same period last year.
   “Although we feel the effects of the broader slowdown in the economy, we continue to improve our operational performance during these challenging times,” he said.
   “We have also seen strong sales growth in emerging and challenging environments. For example, our scope of work to support the world’s largest natural gas project in Western Australia has grown substantially and is estimated at $232 million Australian dollars (US $244 million) over the next two years,” Sultan added.
   The company said its global integrated logistics business increased by 1 percent over the same period last year to 295 million dinar. The company also has revenue from infrastructure and real estate activities. – Chris Dupin