Dubai’s Aramex announces CFO resignation

Dubai-listed logistics company Aramex announced on Sunday that its chief financial officer (CFO) Bashar Obeid has informed the board of his plans to exercise his early retirement option in order to pursue other endeavours.

Obeid will continue to serve as the company’s CFO until February 28, 2018 to facilitate a transition to his successor, a statement said.

Aramex has named Nadia Abusarah, currently serving as the company’s executive corporate controller, as interim CFO to replace him.

Obeid, who joined Aramex in 1993, was a member of the team that oversaw Aramex’s public offering on the NASDAQ stock exchange and later on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

Hussein Hachem, CEO of Aramex said: “Throughout his 24 years with Aramex, Bashar helped guide the company to where we are today and worked very hard to grow the business, increase profitability and ensure financial stability.

“We remain focused and committed to moving forward with our plans.”

Aramex reported a 23 per cent drop in second quarter net profit to reach Dhs97m, compared with Dhs125.7m in the same period last year. Revenues during the quarter grew 4 per cent to Dhs1.14bn, up from Dhs1.10bn in Q2 2016.

The company blamed currency fluctuations – specifically from the devaluation of the Egyptian pound and a one-time fair value adjustment related to its investment in Egyptian joint venture AMC Logistics for the drop in profit.

“Despite the ongoing global and regional economic uncertainty, we delivered strong results,” Hachem said at the time.

“We are excited about our future prospects for growth, and will be actively identifying acquisitions and strategic partnerships to expand our global reach,” he added.