Aramex has acquired a 25 per cent stake in in the cross-border mailbox consolidation service provider WS One Investments for Dh9 million as the Dubai-based courier seeks to boost its e-commerce business. WS One operates out of Ohio in the United States.
"It complements our existing international shipping services, Shop and Ship and presents opportunities for us to further expand our e-commerce proposition," said Hussein Hachem, chief executive of Aramex.
“We are confident that the agreement will help grow our B2C business by connecting more online shoppers directly to e-tailers in the UAE.”
Aramex is on the prowl for assets to help expand its business, particularly its e-commerce segment.
In 2014, it acquired PostNet South Africa for US$16.5m and Australia’s Mail Call Couriers for $26m.
Aramex is forecasting a 10 per cent increase in full-year net profit for 2015, despite positing a worse-than-expected 7.3 per cent rise in third-quarter profit, the chief executive said in October. Aramex’s net profit in the three months to September 30 rose to Dh74.6m compared with Dh69.5m a year earlier. Revenue grew 2 per cent to Dh937.5m from a year earlier.
dalsaadi@thenational.ae
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