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In a recent buying frenzy on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, tech companies saw a surge in their share prices, resulting in significant gains for South African tech tycoon Zak Calisto.
Calisto, the founder of global mobility software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform Karooooo Limited, witnessed a remarkable gain of more than $60 million from his stake in the Singapore-based company.
Established in 2001, Karooooo Limited initially focused on stolen car recovery services in South Africa. Since then, it has evolved into a prominent mobility platform, with Calisto holding a substantial 74.73-percent share in the Nasdaq-listed company.
Over the past two weeks, Karooooo’s share price has surged by 12.5 percent, rising from $21 on May 22 to $23.62 on June 7. This double-digit percent surge has pushed its market capitalization above $720 million.
As a result, Calisto’s stake in Karooooo has increased by an impressive $60.6 million, growing by 12.5 percent from $485.7 million to $546.3 million.
The surge in Karooooo’s share price can be attributed to investors’ positive reaction to the company’s recently published financial results.
Karooooo reported a substantial 27.7–percent increase in profits for the 2023 fiscal year, ending on Feb. 28, 2023. Profits rose from R476.6 million ($25.72 million) in 2022 to R608.8 million ($32.85 million).
The growth was fueled by a significant rise in subscription revenue and robust margin expansion in both gross profit and operating profit.
The impressive financial performance can be attributed to efficient supply chain management, improved control measures, and cost reductions associated with fleet and mobility, such as fuel and maintenance expenses.
The company’s core mobility platform, Cartrack, played a crucial role in driving subscription revenue up by 28 percent, propelling the group’s total revenue from R2.74 billion ($147.8 million) to R3.5 billion ($188.8 million).
