The vehicle tracking company isn’t slowing down despite tough trading conditions.
Cartrack racked up 72 000 new customers in the year to end February 2016, and the vehicle tracking firm foresee excellent potential for growth in the USA and will consider suitable acquisitions on merit. By Gugu Lourie
Cartrack provides services related to stolen vehicle recovery, fleet management and insurance telematics through Software as a Service (SaaS).
The firm informed investors on Tuesday that its global active subscribers rose by 17% or some 72 000 units to 502 849 units in the year to end-February 2016.
The South African-based firm also added that contract subscription revenue increased by 20% and continues to represent 84% of total revenue. The Fleet Management subscriber base grew by 60 580 units, now representing 56% versus 51% in 2015 of the Cartrack.
What’s also notable is the fact that Cartrack is actively pursuing growth opportunities and expect to see solid growth despite the global economic and foreign exchange uncertainties.
During the period, Cartrack bought 100% of the shares in Cartrack Manufacturing (formerly Onecell Manufacturing) from Onecell Holdings on 1 March 2015. The company says the acquisition places it in full control of the supply chain for its products, from procurement of components to manufacture, testing and repair. Cartrack also bought 100% of the shares in Cartrack Management Services (formerly Bonito Recruitment Services from Onecell Holdings (Pty) Limited on 1 March 2015.
The company competes with JSE-listed Digicore, which was last year acquired by US-based technology firm Novatel for R1.1 billion. It also competes with JSE-listed Mix Telematics and Tracker.
In the year to end February, Cartrack reported a 20% increase in revenue to R1 billion and operating profit was up 19% to R345 million. The company headline earnings per share – South Africa’s main profit gauge – jumped 27% to 81 cents per share.
Cartrack has a presence in 21 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. As part of its international expansion drive, Cartrack opened new operations in six countries in Asia and the Middle East at the end of 2015, using the established Singapore business as the central hub for the region.
Cartrack is also looking for more opportunities in more diversified “big data” industry.
“Considerable focus and effort was placed on technology innovation during the year. Next generation Telematics units are at an advanced stage of testing and will provide for enhanced performance and additional features. Additional products were added to our range, in particular a unit which allows continuous and cost-effective tracking of assets that travel internationally. New mobile applications are being developed to foster a more intimate relationship with clients,” the company said on Tuesday.
“The analysis of the vast volumes of Telematics data received and the commercial uses for such data analytics remain key to business sustainability well into the future.”
