Agility targets rapid growth as it hails ‘huge potential’ of Saudi market

Agility

• Logistics specialist reported earnings of $221m in 2022
• Kuwait-based firm is building a logistics park near Jeddah
• Reem Mall in Abu Dhabi to open fully ‘in this quarter or the next’

Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility sees huge potential in Saudi Arabia and is “taking every measure” to boost its investments in the kingdom.

The company, which has reported earnings of KD68 million ($221 million) for 2022, a year-on-year increase of 180.7 percent, believes Saudi Arabia “definitely” offers the biggest market potential in the GCC.

Agility’s revenues reached KD863.4 million last year, a rise of 77 percent.

• UAE logistics boom demands more and better warehouses
• Agility and Hassan Allam link up to build logistics parks in Egypt
• Saudi reports 20% rise in aviation-related firms

Ehab Aziz, Agility Group’s chief financial officer, said in a filing to Dubai Financial Market: “We are very well positioned, given that we had an early mover advantage in that space in Saudi, to take full advantage of our position in the market and expand and grow rapidly. 

“We are taking every measure to allocate capital to Saudi for industrial real estate and to grow the business.”

One Saudi project under way is the construction of a logistics park near Jeddah, which is scheduled to be completed within the next two to three years. A major customer has already been signed and negotiations are continuing with another. 

Agility completed the $924 million acquisition of British aviation firm John Menzies last summer.

“There is a significant potential and values to be created, between what’s happening in Saudi and the capabilities of Menzies,” Aziz added. 

The US market has also become very important for Agility, according to Aziz, and the company is actively looking to expand.

Reem Abu Dhabi

Aziz expects the full opening of the company’s delayed $1.3 billion Reem Mall in Abu Dhabi to happen “in this quarter or the next” after a soft opening in February.

He added that despite the challenges in this sector it was going to be “a successful investment”.

“We can see now many investors are coming to the UAE. Its economy is doing extremely well and we’re very optimistic.”

Construction of the Reem Mall reportedly began in 2017 and the project was initially set for completion early last year. It opened to the public on February 16, with about 45 units operating.  

Aziz believes Reem has “a very reasonable and decent occupancy rate” and is confident about the quality of the tenants.

Agility vice chairman Tarek Sultan said the business had had a strong 2022, marked by acquisitions that were “reshaping the company”. 

“Today, Agility is diversified geographically, operationally and financially,” he added, pointing to its workforce of 45,000 people on six continents.

“Ultimately, we’re a different business today than we were even two years ago.”