Dubai logistics firm Aramex reported a 13 percent rise in third-quarter net profit on Monday, but the results missed analysts' forecasts.

Aramex posted a third-quarter net profit of 59.9 million dirhams ($16.3 million) compared with 53.1 million dirhams in the corresponding period in 2012, it said in a bourse statement.

Revenue for the quarter was million dirhams, up percent from million dirhams in the prior-year period.

The results missed market expectations; four analysts polled by Reuters had estimated on average a third-quarter net profit of 63 million dirhams.

Revenues from Aramex’s core market operations in Mena region have been robust despite the prolonged low-trading season at the beginning of the third quarter. Sub-Saharan African markets continue to record strong growth, with South Africa playing an increasingly important role in Aramex’s global network.

Across its core businesses in express, logistics, freight and e-commerce Aramex continued to deliver solid results during the third quarter of 2013, particularly in the e-commerce sector. In line with its focused development strategy for ecommerce, Aramex sustained its efforts to connect growth markets across Africa and Asia through the expansion of its B2C services to eight origin cities including Istanbul, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

“We have entered the final quarter of the year with very good momentum in our business, maintaining our focus on our global growth strategy,” said Hussein Hachem, Aramex CEO.

, “We have expanded our industry supply chain solutions, in particular for the oil and gas sector and we expect to extend these services to additional markets. We have also succeeded in expanding our footprint through franchising and acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia – markets that will be key to our future development – and we will continue to focus on expansion in these markets in 2014,” he added.  - TradeArabia News Service and Reuters