Agility rides demand for infrastructure, contract logistics to strong 2017

Global demand for warehousing and freight forwarding services pushed Agility Logistics’ fourth-quarter net profits up 22.5 percent to US$64.3 million, with Agility CEO Tarek Sultan saying that all the company’s groups had a “critical year.” Full-year earnings saw similar gains, with net profits up 16 percent to $228.4 million.

The Kuwait-based 3PL said that it is investing heavily in its infrastructure arm. Full-year revenue for the infrastructure group grew by 12.7 percent in 2017, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also up by 28.2 percent to $403 million, with Agility saying that it was, “investing in those companies to drive its future growth.”

Agility Industrial Real Estate, a leading owner and developer of logistics parks, remains one of the strongest contributors to Agility’s performance. The company said it is pouring millions into investments across Africa and the Middle East.

Full-year revenue for Agility Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) grew 14.3 percent to more than $3.5 billion last year. The increase was attributed to growth in the freight forwarding business and contract logistics.

Despite the strong performance, Agility noted that its profits were depressed by a $95 million settlement, paid to the U.S. government for overcharging for supply shipments made during the wars the U.S. waged in Iraq and Afghanistan. Agility subsidiary Public Warehousing Company (PW) and its affiliate, The Sultan Center, were the prime vendor to feed U.S. and Coalition troops in various Middle East conflicts from 2003–2010, garnering $8.5 billion worth of prime-vendor food contracts.