South Africa’s newest billionaire raking in the cash

Karooooo continues to go from strength to strength, with its subsidiary, Cartrack, reaching 2.9 million subscribers.

The company’s growth since its founding in 2001 has made CEO and founder Zak Calisto a rand-billionaire, and he recently crossed into dollar-billionaire status.

On Tuesday, 20 October, Karooooo released its results for the six months through August 2026, which showed continued growth for the company.

At a group level, Karooooo’s subscription revenue rose 19% to R2.77 billion, while its operating profit increased 18% to R832 million.

The group’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 12% to R18.81.

The company’s crown jewel, Cartrack, saw its subscribers increase by 18% to 2.9 million. The business’s net subscriber additions rose 53% to 236,988.

This led to a 19% increase in subscription revenue to R2.765 billion, with annualised recurring revenue also up 19% to R5.71 billion.

Karooooo’s other subsidiary, Karooooo Logistics, saw its B2B delivery-as-a-service revenue grow 41% to R366 million.

The company’s cost of sales also increased substantially, up 27% to R1.06 billion, with Cartrack’s cost of sales up 23% to R803 million.

Despite this substantial increase, Cartrack’s gross profit margin remained flat at 72%.

“We believe we are on track to accelerate Cartrack subscription revenue growth in FY 2027 as we realise the benefits of our recent investments in sales capacity,” Karooooo said.

“We aim to drive our growth by balancing subscriber growth with the increased adoption of Video and Cartrack-Tag.” 

“We also believe increased sales efficiency, coupled with realising other efficiencies in the business due to scale and leveraging AI, will support strong EPS growth.”

For the full 2027 financial year, Karooooo expects Cartrack’s subscription revenue to grow by between 18% and 24%, with a gross profit margin of between 70% and 72%.

Karooooo projects that its EPS will be between R38.50 and R40, which implies growth of 18% to 23%.