HARARE – Unifreight Africa Limited delivered la materially stronger trading performance for the half year ended 30 June 2026, with growth across every measure of operating profitability underpinned by improved margins, a ten-fold increase in operating cash generation and a substantial fleet renewal programme.
Revenue grew 8.9 percent to ZWG434.24 million from ZWG398.85 million in the prior year, but the quality of that growth was more significant. Operating costs increased by only 3.8 percent to ZWG346.89 million, less than half the rate of revenue growth, a gap which management attributed to sustained focus on route economics, fleet utilisation and overhead discipline. This operational leverage translated directly into earnings, with EBITDA rising 25.7 percent to ZWG92.78 million from ZWG73.8 million, lifting the EBITDA margin to 21.4 percent from 18.5 percent. Profit before taxation advanced 40.8 percent to ZWG53.15 million from ZWG37.74 million, with the pre-tax margin improving to 12.2 percent from 9.5 percent.
Profit after tax was recorded at ZWG38.74 million compared to ZWG147.96 million in the prior period, with basic earnings per share at 36.38 cents against 138.97 cents previously. Unifreight said this decline is a matter of comparability rather than performance, as the prior period was boosted by a one-off deferred tax credit of ZWG110.2 million arising from the reassessment of the Group’s functional currency to the United States dollar in 2025, whereas the current period carried a normal tax charge of ZWG14.41 million.
The defining feature of the period was capital deployment. The company acquired 40 trucks and trailers, investing ZWG75.08 million in vehicles and equipment and lifting the carrying value of the fleet by 13.7 percent to ZWG621.95 million. Total assets grew 9.7 percent to ZWG1.126 billion, with a further ZWG38.4 million in capital commitments already approved for future expansion. Annesley noted that a younger fleet delivers lower maintenance costs, better fuel economy, higher availability and a stronger service proposition to customers, positioning Unifreight to capture volume as regional trade flows recover.
Cash performance was the standout of the half year. Net cash generated from operating activities surged to ZWG101.5 million from ZWG9.8 million, driven principally by a determined collections effort that reduced trade and other receivables by 37.7 percent to ZWG141.19 million, thereby freeing up working capital to fund the fleet programme. Shareholders’ equity grew 10.3 percent to ZWG617.52 million. Total liabilities to equity remained essentially stable at 0.82 times against 0.84 times, although interest-bearing debt rose 34.3 percent to ZWG236.3 million as the Group drew long-term facilities, with non-current borrowings increasing to ZWG157.47 million, to match the tenor of funding to the life of the assets. Gearing increased to 38.3 percent from 31.4 percent, but finance costs of ZWG13.06 million were comfortably covered 7.1 times by EBITDA. Current liabilities fell 20.2 percent to ZWG208.44 million.
The company, which is in its 80th year and operates through Swift, Skynet and Bulwark, did not declare an interim dividend, opting to retain cash for its expansion programme. The executive team was commended for purposeful and well-executed delivery,. The improvement in margin and cash conversion was the result of hard operational work.
The companys vision of building a Zimbabwean logistics platform that can support local distribution, regional trade, contract logistics and an express service at scale is in motion.
