Unifreight Africa Q3 revenue up by 135 percent

TRANSPORT and logistics firm, Unifreight Africa Limited, has attributed a 135 percent volume increase in the third quarter from 50,000 tonnes in 2022 to 120,000 tonnes to a successful recapitalisation exercise that added 100 new trucks in the business.

“Q3 volumes have increased from 50,000t in 2022 to 120,000t in 2023, a noteworthy 135 percent increase.

“This increase is driven mainly through an investment in capacity during Q1 2023 where Unifreight procured 100 X FAW28-380FT which were paired with AFRIT Taut-liners,” said group chief executive officer, Mr Richard Clarke in a third quarter trading update.

Mr Clarke said Q3 expenditure remained flat year on year with a marginal two percent increase between 2022 and 2023.

“Considering the addition of assets to our fleet this was remarkable cost containment in an inflationary environment.

“The combination of a 135 percent increase to top line growth and marginal two percent increase in expenditure has resulted in a fantastic year on year turnaround from a loss making position in 2022 to an EBITDA profit of $3, 4 billion for Q3 2023,” he said.

Mr Clarke said the 100 FAWs have been operating within the local Zimbabwean market, however depressed rates/kilometre have resulted in moving some of the fleet onto more lucrative cross-border contracts.

Leveraging on recapitalisation drive, it now seeks to diversify and de-risk the business by actively pursuing cross-border and contract haulage and further increase fleet.

“During Q4 2023 and into 2024 we aim to further increase our fleet of FAW’s and to allocate additional assets toward the cross-border market.

“ For the local Zimbabwean market, we are focussing on investment in smaller FAW28 290hp and FAW8 140hp trucks with volumetric configurations to better serve the local market at lower running costs per KM.”

The strategy is aligned with the firm’s cost containment and cross border strategy is proving to be an effective model.

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) listed firm is a transport holding company offering services in logistics, freight and passenger services to clients in sub-Saharan Africa.

The company has since 2020 pursued new revenue streams, investments in new vehicles and disposed of some assets, setting a firm foundation for business sustainability.-chronicle