South African mogul Zak Calisto’s Karooooo reports nearly $17.1 million in profit in H1 2023

Karooooo Limited, a mobility platform established by South African businessman Zak Calisto, reported a profit of R311.82 million ($17.13 million) in the first half of its 2023 fiscal year, fueled by a double-digit increase.

According to data from its recently released half-year report, its profit in the first six months of its fiscal year 2023 climbed by 35 percent, from R231.08 million ($12.73 million) in the first six months of 2022 to R311.82 million ($17.13 million).

The increase in profit by double digits may be attributed to the increase in new customers, particularly those with connected vehicles and equipment on Karooooo’s platform, which played a vital role in the increase in revenue from R1.28 billion ($70.2 million) to R1.66 billion ($91.1 million).

While reviewing the half-year results, Calisto, Karooooo’s CEO and founder, stated that the group’s growth in both revenue and earnings in a challenging environment validates its value proposition, and this cements its decade-plus track record of strategically investing for the future while scaling, growing, and generating healthy profits.

“We believe that our focus on product improvement, innovation, and a vertically integrated business model continues to differentiate us from our peers by delivering high profitability, consistent growth, and record levels of cash from operations,” he added.

Calisto established Karooooo in 2001, first focusing on stolen car recovery services in South Africa. Cartrack, a wholly-owned subsidiary that provides real-time mobility data analytics solutions for smart transportation, is now managed by the corporation.

Since 2001, Karooooo has grown to become a leading provider of smart transportation management and analytics, serving customers in 23 countries across five continents and supporting over 1.4 million users worldwide.

Due to its strong financial performance over the last year, its total assets climbed from R2.76 billion ($151.9 billion) in August 2021 to R3.57 billion ($196.5 million) in August 2022, while retained earnings rose from R1.02 billion ($56.1 million) to R1.29 billion ($71 million).