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Cartrack owner Karooooo say SA's unprecedented power outages failed to derail subscriber growth in its year to end-February, with local subscriptions up by double digits.
Subscribers for its core vehicle-tracking business grew 13% to just over 1.7 million in the year to end February, Karooooo reported on Tuesday, with revenue rising more than a quarter, while operating profit rose 26% to about R882 million.
Growth in South Africa, which accounts for about three quarters of subscribers, was slightly more moderate at 11%. The company said it was still confident of growth, despite expectations that South Africa will show little, if any, economic growth in 2023.
"Given that we seek to pass on additional benefits to our customers as we achieve economies of scale and our rich data pool gains value, we believe we will continue to see strong customer demand for our value proposition."
Karooooo, which was founded by CEO Zak Calisto in 2001, started off as a vehicle track-and-trace company and listed on the JSE in 2014. Its services have grown to include software mobility solutions for fleets and insurance analytics, security and safety for commercial customers.
Headquartered in Singapore and with a market value of about R12.5 billion on the US Nasdaq, Karooooo also owns vehicle-trading business Carzuka and Karooooo Logistics, formerly Picup.
"These robust results extend the group’s track record of growth at scale, profitability and cash generation to over a decade," Calisto said in a statement.
He said this was due in part to customers who are digitalising their operations to gain a competitive advantage.
Click here for more details on Karooooo's shares and other info.
Shares in Karooooo were unchanged in early trade on Tuesday, but have fallen about 8% on the JSE over the past year.
