Unifreight Africa expands customer base, navigates challenging market conditions

UNIFREIGHT Africa Ltd has said the third quarter of 2024 was marked by significant successes in customer acquisition, driven by a series of targeted initiatives from the sales team.

Group chief executive officer Mr Richard Clarke said through an intensive door-to-door blitz, they unlocked new accounts in various sectors, including banking, healthcare, and agriculture.

“This strategic expansion was aimed at capturing market share from competitors and securing clients seeking more reliable logistics partners,” said Mr Clarke in a statement accompanying the company trading update for the 2024 third quarter.

He said Unifreight Africa demonstrated solid resilience in a difficult trading environment in Q3 2024, which reinforced the effectiveness of its operational strategies amid challenging market conditions.

The company recorded a total revenue growth of 9 percent year on year, whereas Mr Clarke said it did fall 15 percent short of our ambitious budgeted targets set.

“Despite these economic pressures, we achieved a net profit margin of 3,6 percent, which further emphasises our ability to navigate cost constraints and focus on high-margin business opportunities,” he said.

“A significant contributor to this performance was the Full Truck Load (FTL) segment, which expanded to represent 22 percent of our revenue mix.

“Additionally, cross-border operations contributed 23 percent of total revenue, and continue to be a vital growth area. These increases were balanced by the Less Than Load (LTL) segment, which maintained a 48 percent share.”

He said Swift volumes were notably 14 percent above the previous year, reaching 111 616 tons, with a yield above budget, indicating stronger utilisation and pricing strategies.

“This robust volume growth, combined with high operational standards, has been pivotal in securing new contracts and maintaining customer satisfaction levels,” said Mr Clarke.-chroncile