by Gugu Lourie
South African-based fleet management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider, Mix Telematics has passed 600 000 subscriber mark for the first time in the business history as more customers see value in its solutions.
The R2.2 billion company – which in August 2013 listed on the New York Stock Exchange – on Thursday announced that it has added 20 000 new subscribers in the third quarter to end-December 2016, pushing its total base to above 600 000.
Mix Telematics develops its fleet management solutions using a SaaS model in South Africa, where it takes advantage of savings on costs of hiring software engineers. In Europe and the US, these professionals cost more. Telematics industry is a shorthand for vehicle tracking and fleet management and this is driven by the Internet of Things.
Mix Telematics has offices in Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US. Thousands of South African customers rely on its stolen-vehicle recovery service, Matrix Vehicle Tracking.
MiX Telematics services customers in 120 countries and has an advantage of operating across six continents. It also has a network of more than 130 fleet partners globally.
The firm said on Wednesday that its subscribers rose 10% year over year, bringing its total users to more than 605 000.
This enabled Mix Telematics to generate R311 million in total subscription revenue in the third quarter versus R94 million in the same period in the previous year.
“We are pleased with our strong execution during the third quarter and we exceeded expectations across all key metrics,” said Stefan Joselowitz, CEO of MiX Telematics.
“Our results were driven by general strength across the portfolio including the positive contribution from energy sector customers, as well as the ongoing shift toward bundled deals which increases the long-term value per subscriber. We believe that MiX is well positioned to maintain the momentum for the remainder of the year and beyond given our industry-leading integrated fleet management platform, product diversification, ongoing traction in key verticals and geographies, as well as commitment to sustain profitable growth.”
CFO resigns
However, the company have lost its chief financial officer, Megan Pydigadu, who has been at the helm for a long time.
Pydigadu resigned as CFO and member of the board on November 15, to pursue a new career opportunity in a non-competitive industry.
She will be replaced by Paul Dell as an interim CFO of MiX Telematics, effective February 9, 2017.
Paul is a chartered accountant and has worked for MiX Telematics since 2010, where he became a senior member of the finance team in his capacity of Group Financial Manager.
In 2012, as group financial controller, he assumed responsibility for managing the company’s finance and accounting activities including financial reporting, corporate tax, financial planning and analysis.
“I have complete confidence in Paul’s ability and know he will do a great job for us given his tenure at the company and the value he has added over the years. We thank Megan for the smooth transition and wish her well with her new opportunity,” said Joselowitz.
Mix Telematics was established in 1996 in South Africa, two years after the first democratic election. In 2007, its shares floated on the JSE. Mix Telematics competes with TomTom Business Solutions, Qualcomm’s Omnitracs and other players.
