Kuwait-based Agility has reported a 16.4 per cent rise in net profit for the first quarter 2009 over the same period last year despite the slowdown affecting the global economy. Net profit before non-recurring items was KD39.2 million (US$134.8 million). “Going forward, we are proceeding with extreme caution, and will continue to centre our efforts on aggressively managing cost and cash while driving performance. We also continue to scope out game changing opportunities for mergers and acquisitions,” Agility chairman and managing director Tarek Sultan said. First quarter net revenue margin increased to 37.9 per cent from 34.1 per cent compared to the same period last year, despite a decline in revenues by 8.1 per cent reaching KD407.4 million.