Karooooo (KARO) Q2 2027 Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• VP of Investor Relations and Strategic Finance - Paul Bieber
• Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer - Zak Calisto
• Chief Financial Officer - Hoe Shin Goy
• Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer - Carmen Calisto

TAKEAWAYS

• Total Revenue -- ZAR 1,640 million, an increase of 22% driven by growth in both subscription services and logistics.
• Subscription Revenue -- ZAR 1,418 million, representing 20% growth and 98% of total Cartrack revenue.
• Net Subscriber Additions -- 94,516, representing a record for the second quarter and an increase of 34%.
• Total Subscribers -- 2,899,210, reflecting an 18% increase as the company capitalizes on sales momentum for video solutions and Cartrack Tag.
• Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) -- ZAR 5,708 million, increasing 19% or 22% on a constant currency basis.
• U.S. Dollar ARR -- $354 million, an increase of 30% reflecting the impact of the strengthening South African rand.
• Operating Profit -- ZAR 422 million, representing a record quarterly result and 19% growth despite foreign exchange headwinds.
• Earnings Per Share (EPS) -- ZAR 9.28, an increase of 18%.
• Adjusted EPS -- ZAR 9.28, representing 12% growth after excluding prior-year secondary offering costs.
• South Africa Subscription Revenue -- Increasing 25%, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of growth acceleration in the region.
• Asia Constant Currency Subscription Revenue -- Growing 25% compared to 17% in the first quarter.
• Karooooo Logistics Revenue -- ZAR 189 million, an increase of 36% driven by demand for quick-commerce delivery services.
• Cartrack Operating Profit Margin -- 28%, compared to 29% in the prior year.
• Karooooo Logistics Operating Profit Margin -- 6%, reflecting costs associated with driver availability and network expansion.
• Subscription Gross Margin -- 71%, compared to 72% in the prior-year period.
• LTV to CAC Ratio -- Remaining above nine times, which management stated underpins its disciplined approach to customer acquisition.
• Commercial Customer ARR Retention -- 95%, reflecting durable relationships with enterprise clients.
• Inventory Investment -- ZAR 966 million for the first half of the year, an 86% increase to create a buffer against rising RAM and memory prices.
• Free Cash Flow -- ZAR 41 million for the quarter, impacted by working capital dynamics and investments in in-vehicle IoT devices.
• Cash and Cash Equivalents -- ZAR 649 million, down from ZAR 1,154 million in February due to a ZAR 752 million dividend payment.
• Debtor Collection Days -- 33 days, remaining within historical norms despite accelerated customer onboarding.
• FY 2027 Subscription Revenue Guidance -- ZAR 5,700 million to ZAR 6,000 million, implying growth of 18% to 24%.
• FY 2027 EPS Guidance -- ZAR 38.50 to ZAR 40.00, representing growth of 18% to 23% compared to adjusted fiscal 2026 figures.

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RISKS

• Goy stated, "Earnings growth moderated due to higher tax rate and finance expense," noting these factors impacted the year-over-year comparison for adjusted earnings.
• Goy warned that the company increased investment in IoT devices to create a buffer against "ongoing significant increases in RAM and memory prices," which impacted quarterly free cash flow.
• Management noted that the strengthening South African rand creates a headwind for reported results, as subscription revenue growth was 31% in U.S. dollars but 20% when reported in rand.

SUMMARY

Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO) reported record quarterly operating profit and accelerated subscription revenue growth driven by sustained demand for its operational intelligence platform. Management stated that recent investments in sales capacity are yielding results, particularly in South Africa and Asia, where constant currency revenue growth surpassed 20%. The company is maintaining its full-year guidance for fiscal 2027 while proactively managing supply chain risks through significant inventory investments in IoT components. Management reported that the business remains focused on balancing new customer acquisition with cross-selling high-value video and tracking solutions to its existing base of more than 125,000 commercial customers.

• CEO Calisto stated, "We believe a similar momentum should continue for the remainder of FY 2027," regarding the record net subscriber additions achieved during the quarter.
• The company is utilizing AI across three pillars: internal process optimization, product development, and platform enhancement to improve execution speed and value delivery.
• Management identified Southeast Asia as the most compelling medium-term to long-term growth opportunity, planning to continue a prudent drive to increase sales and marketing in the region.
• The adoption of Cartrack Tag and video solutions exceeded internal budgets for the financial year, contributing to the acceleration in subscription revenue.
• Management noted that factory-embedded OEM telematics often lack the specific operational intelligence customers require, leading to continued demand for the company's proprietary hardware solutions.
• The company reported it currently processes more than 345 billion data points monthly, which it uses to deliver ROI metrics such as 23% improvements in fuel efficiency for construction clients.
• Free cash flow is expected to strengthen in the second half of the fiscal year following a period of heavy upfront investment in hardware inventory.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• ARR (Annualized Recurring Revenue): The annual run-rate value of subscription agreements from all customers at a point in time.
• Cartrack Tag: A proprietary asset-tracking solution designed for high-volume, cost-effective monitoring of mobile assets.
• LTV to CAC: The ratio of a customer's lifetime value to the cost of acquiring that customer, used to measure unit economics.
• Q-commerce (Quick-commerce): A type of e-commerce focused on ultra-fast delivery, typically within an hour, supported by Karooooo Logistics.
• Rule of 60: A financial performance metric where the sum of revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margin exceeds 60.
• SaaS (Software-as-a-Service): A software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Paul Bieber: Hello, and welcome to Karooooo's Q2 FY 2027 financial results presentation. On behalf of Karooooo, we would like to thank you for joining us today. I'm Paul Bieber, VP of Investor Relations and Strategic Finance. We are joined today by Zak Calisto, Founder and Group CEO, Hoe Shin Goy, Chief Financial Officer, and Carmen Calisto, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer. I would like to remind everyone that some of the statements that we make today regarding our business, operations, and financial performance may be considered forward-looking. Such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions. They are subject to several risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially.

Please refer to the safe harbor statement in our Form 20-F, including the risk factors in the 6-K that we filed yesterday. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. During this call, we will present both IFRS and non-IFRS financial measures. A reconciliation of non-IFRS to IFRS measures is included in the 6-K that we filed with the SEC yesterday. Our comments may refer to year-over-year comparisons unless we state otherwise. I will now pass the call over to Carmen.

Carmen Calisto: Thanks, Paul. Q2 was another quarter of acceleration. Cartrack subscription revenue accelerated to 20% from 19% in the prior quarter, despite FX headwinds. Importantly, Cartrack's constant currency subscription revenue growth increased 23% in Q2 compared to 21% in Q1, with constant currency growth acceleration across all regions. Notably, South Africa's subscription revenue growth accelerated to 25% compared to 24% in Q1, and Asia constant currency subscription revenue growth also accelerated to 25% compared to 17% in Q1. The acceleration demonstrates that our investments in sales capacity continue to drive tangible results as we balance new customer acquisition with building our cross-sell capabilities. ARR increased 22% in constant currency.

Reported ARR growth was 19%, reflecting a strengthening ZAR, and 30% in U.S. dollars. In Q2, subscriber growth increased 18% as net subscriber additions increased 34%, a record for the second quarter, as we continue to realize the benefits of our recent investments in sales capacity and capitalize on sales momentum with video solutions and Cartrack Tag. Our strong execution once again translated into record quarterly Karooooo operating profit of ZAR 422 million despite foreign exchange headwinds, reflecting our ability to accelerate revenue growth while maintaining healthy profitability. Earnings per share also increased 18% in Q2. As we look forward to the rest of the fiscal year, we reiterate our FY 2027 outlook.

Before diving into the details, here is a quick introduction to Karooooo. We provide an operational intelligence platform for connected vehicles and mobile assets, helping businesses simplify decision-making and optimize their physical operations. We serve an expanding, largely underpenetrated physical AI market driven by digital transformation and the need for greater efficiency, safety, and compliance. We are a founder-led business with a two-decade track record of disciplined execution and capital allocation. Our platform supports approximately 2.9 million subscribers across more than 125,000 businesses in diverse industries. Our financial model is anchored by accelerating high-margin subscription revenue, which was 98% of Cartrack revenue in Q2. Commercial customer ARR retention remained at 95%, and lifetime value to CAC remains above nine times.

We also now process more than 345 billion valuable data points monthly, a proprietary data asset that continues to scale and enables us to deliver value to our customers. During today's presentation, we will review both of Karooooo's operating segments, Cartrack and Karooooo Logistics. Cartrack is our operational intelligence platform. Cartrack operates at scale and has a very attractive financial profile. Cartrack's operating momentum is the primary driver of Karooooo's growth and strong financial performance. Cartrack delivered exceptional Q2 results with acceleration across regions that reflect the returns from the strategic investments we have made in expanding our sales capacity and selling video and Cartrack Tag to existing and new customers.

In Q2, Cartrack delivered approximately ZAR 1.42 billion in subscription revenue, an increase of 20%, or 31% on a U.S. dollar basis. The 20% growth reflects an acceleration compared to 19% in Q1, despite a strengthening ZAR that negatively impacted reported Cartrack subscription revenue in Q2. Cartrack constant currency subscription revenue growth accelerated to 23% in Q2 compared to 21% in the prior quarter. Cartrack's operating profit margin was a healthy 28% in Q2. Karooooo Logistics is our rapidly growing delivery-as-a-service offering, which helps large enterprise customers scale their Q-commerce or quick commerce operations. We report it separately because its financial profile differs from Cartrack's subscription model.

It is strategically important for us because it enables customers to grow with a capital-light model and deepens their relationship with us, supporting higher retention. In Q2, Karooooo Logistics' delivery-as-a-service revenue was ZAR 189 million, an increase of 36%, or 49% on a U.S. dollar basis. Karooooo Logistics' operating margin was 6% and reflects investments to ensure driver availability and expansion into our network. In Q2, Karooooo delivered strong consolidated financial results. Total revenue increased 22% to ZAR 1,640 million, subscription revenue increased 20% to ZAR 1,418 million, operating profit increased 19% to a record ZAR 422 million, and subscriber growth increased 18% to approximately 2.9 million subscribers.

Cartrack's 20% subscription revenue growth and 28% operating profit margin were the primary drivers of Karooooo's strong financial performance in Q2. Q2 continued our track record of profitable growth at scale. In Q2, Cartrack's 20% subscription revenue growth and 46% adjusted EBITDA margin made us a rule of 60 company with no stock-based compensation add back. It is important to underscore just how differentiated our financial model has become. We believe we are among a select few companies operating at a rule of 50+ based on calendar year 2027 FactSet Street estimates. Within a universe of approximately 170 companies, Karooooo is the only small to mid-cap company operating at this combined level of growth and profitability.

With an essentially unchanged share count and no stock-based compensation, growth in free cash flow translates directly into higher per-share value. Our rare financial profile reflects our unwavering commitment to profitable growth. Now, let's discuss our Q2 financial and operational highlights. In Q2, ARR increased 19% despite foreign exchange headwinds, and constant currency ARR increased 22%. ARR in U.S. dollars increased 30%, reaching $354 million. Cartrack subscription revenue growth accelerated to 20% despite FX headwinds. Constant currency growth accelerated across regions, highlighted by South Africa's subscription revenue growth accelerating to 25% and Asia constant currency subscription revenue growth also accelerating to 25%. Cartrack subscription revenue growth increased 31% in U.S. dollars and 23% in constant currency.

Cartrack total subscribers increased 18%, reaching approximately 2.9 million. Cartrack net subscriber additions increased 34% to 94,516, a record for the second quarter. Despite FX headwinds, Karooooo delivered record quarterly operating profit of ZAR 422 million. Growth-oriented investments moderated in Q2 as consolidated sales and marketing expenses increased 16% compared to 33% in Q1. We were a rule of 60 company in Q2 with subscription revenue growth of 20% and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 46%. Our balance sheet remains strong and unleveraged and reflects a $1.50 per share dividend payment in July and the investments in inventory classified as PPE, including memory to support our current accelerated subscription revenue growth.

Our healthy subscription gross margin, efficient customer acquisition, and attractive commercial customer ARR retention rate continue to drive our healthy unit economics. In Q2, our subscription gross margin was 71%, our LTV to CAC ratio remained above 9x, and our commercial customer ARR retention rate was 95%. Our unit economics remain healthy, and we remain committed to profitable growth as we pursue the expansive physical AI growth opportunity ahead. Q2 subscriber growth increased 18% and reached approximately 2.2 million subscribers in South Africa. South Africa net subscriber additions increased 20% to 65,997 as we realized the benefits of our recent investments in sales capacity and capitalized on strong demand for the Cartrack Tag and video solutions.

Importantly, South Africa subscription revenue growth accelerated to 25%. This represents the seventh consecutive quarter of subscription revenue growth acceleration in South Africa. The pace of growth reflects our deliberate strategy to cement our leadership position in South Africa through a balanced combination of subscriber additions and selling video and Cartrack Tag to our existing and new customers in South Africa. Despite some macroeconomic stress in the South African economy, we continue to see a compelling market opportunity in South Africa and are excited about the potential ahead. Q2 subscriber growth increased 21% and reached 367,000 subscribers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with most of the subscribers in Southeast Asia.

Q2 subscription revenue growth accelerated to 12% compared to 6% in Q1 and increased 25% on a constant currency basis. The pace of reported subscription revenue growth in the region reflects foreign exchange headwinds. As the second largest contributor to group revenue, Southeast Asia continues to present the most compelling growth opportunity for the group in the medium to long term. We plan to continue with a strong yet prudent drive to increase sales and marketing in Southeast Asia, and we anticipate our investments to have a positive impact on subscriber growth in the region.

Southeast Asia is a vast, under-penetrated market for sophisticated fleet management and video-based solutions, and we are well-positioned to capitalize on the physical AI opportunity in Southeast Asia. Q2 subscriber growth increased 13% and reached 245,000 in Europe. Q2 subscription revenue growth was 4% and 14% on a constant currency basis. The pace of reported subscription revenue growth in the region reflects foreign exchange headwinds. We continue to expand our customer base and drive our distribution capabilities in the region. In Q2, Karooooo Logistics continued to build scale and delivered revenue of ZAR 189 million, an increase of 36% and a 6% operating profit margin.

Q-commerce or quick commerce orders, a type of e-commerce focused on ultra-fast delivery, drove the exceptional performance. Q2 operating profit margin reflects costs associated with ensuring driver availability and network expansion. Karooooo Logistics supports our strong financial performance by immersing our platform into large customers' operations, contributing to strong customer retention. Karooooo Logistics also enables us to learn about the operational and logistics challenges confronting our customers. In Q2, we continued to make progress with our FY 2027 priorities. First, we made progress cementing our leadership position in South Africa, our largest market, as evidenced by our 25% subscription revenue growth in the region.

Our accelerating growth reflects the planned subscriber growth and the adoption of Cartrack Tag and video solutions. Second, we moderated our investments in sales and marketing in Q2, as evidenced by the 16% increase in sales and marketing expenses in Q2 compared to 33% in Q1 and 37% in FY 2026. Despite this moderation and foreign exchange headwinds, subscription revenue growth accelerated once again in Q2. We remain committed to optimizing our recent investments in sales capacity and growing our distribution footprint at a more moderate pace in FY 2027. Third, we are embracing AI across the organization to enhance our platform, improve efficiency, and accelerate the pace of execution.

Before handing the call over to Hoe Shin to discuss our financial results in more detail, we would like to highlight the ROI our platform delivers to customers. Our success is built on delivering tangible value and ROI to customers. For one customer in Singapore's construction sector, deploying our operational intelligence platform delivered a 25% improvement in on-time delivery, a 23% increase in fuel efficiency, and 100% driver accountability. The customer combined real-time fleet visibility and fuel intelligence with geofencing alerts to coordinate efficient loading, driver identification, and targeted coaching. It then added Cartrack AI vision for intelligent driver monitoring.

Alongside these operational improvements, the customer reduced speeding by 43%, harsh driving events by 31%, phone usage by 65%, and driver fatigue by 33%. Our operational intelligence platform goes beyond vehicle tracking. It helps customers reduce costs, operate more efficiently, improve safety, and better serve customers. With that said, I will now pass the call over to Hoe Shin.

Hoe Shin Goy: Thank you, Carmen. I will now discuss Karooooo's financial performance for quarter two FY 2027. Please note my comments may refer to year-over-year comparisons unless we state otherwise. quarter two extended Cartrack's track record of durable and profitable growth at scale driven by consistent executions, our resilient subscription revenue model, and attractive historic retention rates. In quarter two, subscriber increased 18% to approximately 2.9 million. Subscription revenue increased 20% to ZAR 1,450 million, and operating profit was a quarterly record at ZAR 411 million. Cartrack experienced strong customer acquisitions in quarter two with net subscriber additions of 94,516 subscribers, an increase of 34%. This represents record net subscriber additions for the second quarter.

We delivered record net subscriber additions while successfully cross-selling Cartrack Tag and video to new and existing customer. We note that when we cross-sell Cartrack Tag or video to an existing customer, it does not contribute to an incremental subscriber in our subscriber count. Subscription revenue momentum remains the engine behind Cartrack's strong financial performance. In quarter two, Cartrack's subscription revenue growth accelerated to 20% despite foreign currency headwinds and reached ZAR 1,450 million. Cartrack's subscription revenue growth was 31% in U.S. dollars and 23% in constant currency. Subscription revenue comprised 98% of Cartrack's total revenue. ARR increased 19% despite foreign currency headwinds and reached ZAR 5,708 million. ARR increased 30% in U.S. dollar and 22% in constant currency.

Our proven and profitable subscription revenue model continued to deliver strong consolidated growth. In quarter two, Karooooo's total subscription revenue increased 20% to ZAR 1,480 million. Operating profit increased 19% to a quarterly record of ZAR 422 million as we moderate our investment in sales and marketing. Earnings per share increased 18%, and adjusted earning per share increased 12% to ZAR 9.28. Earnings growth moderated due to higher tax rate and finance expense. Prior adjusted earning per shares excluded the effect of secondary offering costs, and there were no such costs in current year. Quarter two subscriber growth increased 18% to approximately 2.9 million subscriber. South Africa subscriber growth increased 18%, and Asia subscriber growth remained robust at 21%.

Asia is our fastest-growing region in terms of subscriber growth. Quarter two subscriber growth of 18% represent an acceleration compared to FY 2026 growth of 16%. In quarter two, Cartrack's constant currency subscription revenue growth accelerated across all regions. South Africa subscription revenue growth accelerated to 25% compared to 24% in quarter one. Asia and Middle East subscription revenue growth accelerated to 12% and 25% on a constant currency basis compared to 6% and 17% on a constant currency basis in quarter one. Subscription revenue growth accelerated despite an increase in subscriber from lower ARPU countries.

Europe subscription revenue growth was 4% and 14% on a constant currency basis compared to 7% and 13% on a constant currency basis in quarter one. Accelerating growth across regions reflects our strong executions and provide a solid foundation for continued durable growth. In quarter two, ARR increased 19%, reaching ZAR 5,708 million. ARR growth was 30% in U.S. dollar and 22% in constant currencies. This reflects the underlying momentum in the business and signals that our strategic initiatives are gaining traction. Karooooo's earning per share increased 18% to ZAR 9.28, and adjusted earning per share increased 12% compared to quarter two FY 2026.

Cartrack's earning per share contribution increased 13% to ZAR 9.08, and Karooooo Logistics earning per share contributions was ZAR 0.20. Quarter two free cash flow was ZAR 41 million and primarily reflects an increase in trade and other receivables due to increased subscription revenue and investment in-vehicle IoT devices to support growth. Given our accelerated growth, we increased our investment in-vehicle IoT devices for both current and future use, including memory, to create a buffer against rising RAM and memory prices. Our first half free cash flow reflects a ZAR 966 million investment in these IoT devices. Given our investment to date, we expect more robust free cash flow generation in the second half of the year.

As we pursue accelerated growth, we expect free cash flow to reflect our investment to drive growth. While quarterly fluctuations may occur due to working capital dynamics and growth-oriented investment, we remain confident in our ability to consistently generate meaningful cash flow to support growth and dividends. We have two-decade track record of financial discipline and strong free cash flow generation that powers our disciplined capital allocation strategy and healthy return on invested capital and position us well for future growth. During the quarter, we increased our bank short-term working capital facilities as we make upfront investment in both in-vehicle IoT devices and IoT devices for future use to maintain our current momentum.

The significant and ongoing increase in memory chips also contributed to the increased level of IoT devices for future use. This investment increased 86% to ZAR 966 million during the first half of the year. As a result, bank overdrafts are now considered part of our financing arrangements rather than cash management and will be classified within financing activities in the statement of cash flows. Our balance sheet reflects our track record of durable growth at scale, profitability, and cash generations. Our cash and cash equivalent balances as at the end of quarter two was ZAR 649 million. The decrease was mainly due to dividends of ZAR 752 million paid in July 2026.

As we hold our cash reserve in U.S. dollar, the strengthening of the South African rand also reduced the rand value of our cash balances. Debtors collection days remain healthy at 33 days and are within our historical norm. Year to date, we have delivered record net subscriber addition and healthy retention, driving 32% Cartrack constant currency subscription revenue growth. We believe we are on track to accelerate Cartrack subscription revenue growth in FY 2027 as we realize the benefit of our recent investment in sales capacity. We aim to drive our growth by balancing subscriber growth with the increased adoptions of video and Cartrack Tag.

We also believe increased sales efficiencies, coupled with realizing other efficiencies in the business due to scale and leveraging AI, will support strong earnings per share expansion. With that said, we reiterate our FY 2027 outlook that implies accelerating constant currency subscription revenue growth at the midpoint and healthy earnings per share growth. We expect to benefit in the second half from continued revenue momentum, continued sales and marketing efficiencies, and a moderately lower tax rate. In closing, we delivered strong quarter two results with constant currency growth accelerating across regions and notable strength in South Africa and Asia. We also delivered record quarterly operating profit despite foreign currency headwinds.

Quarter two free cash flow reflects investment in growth, including memory, and we expect cash flow to strengthen over the coming quarters as we continue to deliver value to our shareholders. These results reflect the strength of our operating model and the returns on our sales capacity investment. As we look ahead to the rest of FY 2027, we are well-positioned to accelerate growth and deliver meaningful earnings per share expansions while remaining committed to disciplined capital allocation and long-term value creation. With that, I will turn the presentation over to Zak Calisto for Q&A.

Zak Calisto: Thank you, Hoe Shin. Good afternoon or good morning to everybody. I will go through the questions that have been posted. I'll start off with Dylan Becker from William Blair. Subscription revenue growth has picked up again, and Q2 net adds were a record. What is driving this, and how lasting do you think it is heading into the second half and FY 2028? Dylan, I think what's driving it is really our investment into product and into our distribution, and we're obviously executing and improving on that distribution. We believe a similar momentum should continue for the remainder of FY 2027.

Depending how things are by FY 2027, end of FY 2027, by Q4, we'll then have a better visibility how we want to execute during FY 2028. Another question from Dylan. Cartrack's operating margin dipped slightly this quarter. How are you weighing reinvestment for growth against margin expansion, and what does that mean for profitability this year? In terms of the constant currency, I certainly believe with the outlook we've given for the year, we will meet it. In terms of operating profit margin, we model our pricing on a unit economics model.

Even if IFRS, the operating profit margin dips, it's not necessarily a true reflection of the underlying business, given that so much of our customer acquisition costs are expensed up front and the revenue is over the next couple of years. So that's not aligned. All of these operating profit margins, you nearly need to average it out over a period of five or six years to get our real operating profit margin. Obviously, to get the real operating profit margin, you've got to assume that we're not growing. Then our operating profit margin goes all the way up to around 40%. So we're more focused on our unit economics than actually the IFRS reporting. Another question from Dylan.

How is the competition in connected vehicles and fleet management changing as AI capabilities improve? I think the AI capabilities are improving at a very rapid rate. We've started a strong adoption of our AI in terms of running our internal processes, the way we develop product, and also building AI into our platform. So we are investing in these three pillars of AI, and I think all our competitors are doing the same. So I think like any business, it progresses and it adapts to the new reality. I feel very comfortable that we are able to compete going forward. A question now from Alex. Alex from Raymond James.

You spoke to a continued increase in operating capacity in Southeast Asia. How much sales hiring is expected over the next year? What are you seeing in the region in terms of broader demand and ramping productivity in the sales force that you've hired over the last 12 months? Alex, it's always a very tough thing to keep your sales force productive. Many people undermine the importance of salespeople. It's a long journey to get salespeople to where they're supposed to be, and we certainly are improving in Asia and across all our other regions.

As we believe in the model that if you've got 80% of your staff doing the minimum or an acceptable amount of sales, then you can start continuing to hire. We very much believe in that 80%/20% ratio. Given that, depending how quickly we can get people and get them to where they're supposed to be, that will determine the speed of our hiring process. We are getting quite a lot of higher productivity from our sales force, but we will continue with the same business model, which is to obviously increase our distribution. Another question from Alex. Can you walk through the drivers of the sequential change in Cartrack gross margin?

How much was tied to the higher hardware and other revenue, and how would you think about the impact of video and tags to gross margins? Alex, the way we do our pricing is based on our unit economics model, and depending on hardware, the cost of hardware has got a strong direct relation to what we're going to charge in terms of subscription revenue. Our margins are very consistent irrespective of what product. For instance, if memory prices go up like they are going up, then our prices increase to make sure that our unit economics are unchanged. Gross profit margin for us really has two factors that can change it.

Typically, the one factor would be how much hardware did we sell to customers where it doesn't form part of subscription revenue. The higher that is, then we've got absolutely no margin when you sell just product, because that's not our business. Our business is actually to sell the service. If you sell hardware, your revenue and your cost of sales will be about the same, so that gives you zero gross profit. The higher that is, that will impact you. Then the other very important thing is if you slow down sales, then you'll have less of your customer base still in the depreciation part of, let's say we depreciate over five years.

It's only customers in the last five years that form part of that cost of sales and depreciating of PPE. As you scale that up like we currently are, that puts pressure on your subscription revenue. Although temporary pressure, because you've increased the percentage amount of your base that's still depreciating PPE. That puts pressure on your gross profit margin. But if you even it out over time and if you could do the IFRS a bit different, our gross profit margin would be very constant over time. The next question comes from Scott from Roth. Can you provide a quick update on the adoption of video-based services and how this is trending by the region?

Scott, throughout all the regions we operate, we are seeing an uptick in the adoption, and we are feeling very comfortable that we are in the very early days of this adoption. We also simultaneously are also bringing to the market more and more product in video as we realize the universe and how many different solutions and different customer's needs there are. We are continually developing and bringing product to the market, and we continue to also develop our sales skills to be able to get that product adoption, and I think we are making good progress. The next question is also from Scott. How are the tags trending in the South African market?

What is the growth outlook for the next two years? I certainly believe we are making huge momentum with the tags. There is very strong customer demand for it. During Q1, we actually ran out of inventory because of the demand. We focused more on customer acquisition than cross-selling. In Q2, it was more cross-selling environment. We believe that the uptake for both video and tag is strong. Another question from Scott. What is the impact of fuel costs? Is it driving a more rapid adoption, given the cost benefits or translating a pause in decision-making?

I don't believe it is translating to a pause in decision-making, and our platform allows our customers to deal with a lot of challenges, fuel being one of them. One would be, in terms of common sense, think that it is a tailwind. But I think it is our efforts in increasing our distribution that is driving the adoption, and I can't attribute our growth to the fuel prices. Another question from Scott. OpEx was well controlled in the quarter. Is this expected to continue and drive further op leverage into the second half of FY 2027 and FY 2028? Scott, I don't want to commit to this because we have got to be quite agile in our thinking.

We have given outlook to the market. We believe we are going to meet the outlook, and we are going to keep ourselves quite agile. Over the long term, obviously, that OpEx needs to increase. A lot of it is actually got to do with sales and marketing. As we optimize sales and marketing, that is the biggest increase that we are possibly going to have. Then I have another question. One moment please. We have one more question from. Sorry, I have dropped my glasses. Sorry. From Ablay. Expected credit losses increased significant this quarter. Is this mainly due by subscriber growth, or are you seeing changes in customer payment behavior?

I think if you compare it to Q2 of last year, then I agree with you. But if you compare it historically, it is very much our norm. What happened Q2 last year, we had gone through a progress where we received a lot of large payments. So it was a bit skewed last year. Then when we ran our calculations on the debt, the provisions for debt, because a lot of the bad debt had paid, it skews the comparison. So you got to actually look at it into what has been our normal rate over the years. So it is in keeping. Are we seeing changes in the customer payment behavior?

Because we've onboarded a lot of new customers. You normally find the first month or two, it's the difficult part in getting money from your customers because you need to find out how they pay, who's the contact person, who's the right person. We are having a little bit of that lag, but our collections still remain extremely healthy at 33 days. I think it's got to do a little bit with our accelerated growth that you see the collections declining a little bit. Given the different margin profiles of Karooooo Logistics and Cartrack, how do you balance scaling Karooooo Logistics with maintaining the group's long-term profitability?

Ablay, we look at these two businesses separately, and it's actually all sitting on the Cartrack platform, but we report on it separately. The reason we report on it separately is, it's very difficult to actually evaluate each part of the business, given its very different financial profiles. We keep an eye in two different segments. We understand that they've got very different operating profit margins, but we manage it as if it's two different businesses, but actually it's one business. The next question, I'm going to go over to Joshua Reilly from Needham. It seems that your strong sustained subscriber growth, the current macro of sustained high oil prices and the Iran war is not seriously impacting your business.

How is your differentiate to the market service strategy aiding growth and market share gains? I think, Joshua, we're not an island, and I do believe the oil prices are impacting our customers. It could be, in a way, a negative thing for us or positive. But we've, over time, been able to deal with very, very macroeconomic environments. Quite frankly, at this point in time, I don't believe it's had an impact on us. It could have an impact in the future, but I don't see it. I don't believe our market share is unrelated to the petrol prices. I think our market share, the gain of market share, it really is about our ability to execute.

Another question from Joshua. As interest rates remain elevated, you have a strong capital position balance sheet. Are you seeing any of your competitors pull back on their resources in the field or investments for growth given the current macro challenges? Joshua, we are so focused on our own business and our own improvements that we need to do. To be quite frank with you, I haven't really looked at the competitive environment and what exactly are they doing. I cannot answer that. The next question, how is the Cartrack Tag and the video attach rate trending relative to internal plan and updated thoughts on countries for expansion and Cartrack Tag?

What I can say is that Cartrack Tag and video, we are exceeding our budget for the financial year. Another question from Joshua. In the current macro, are you seeing trends around customers hesitant to add vehicles to their fleet? What specific trends are you seeing with customers as they manage around macro headwinds? Joshua, I think it's a bit early days. The petrol prices, they spike up and down. There's a bit of uncertainty. But I think fundamentally in the markets we operate in, everybody is more or less business as usual. Then I've got two questions from Miles Ferree.

With Cartrack operating at an exceptional 98% subscription annuity base, how is the rise of factory-embedded OEM telematics changing your long-term capital model? What we realize with the OEM telematics, they typically don't give our customers what they actually require. They very much focus on the safety and the maintenance of the vehicle. Even we are getting a lot of OEM business, at the end of the day, we're having to put in our own hardware solutions to be able to really address the customer's challenges. Okay, then another question. Secondly, as you scale Karooooo Logistics, what operational guardrails are in place to ensure these asset-heavy, low-margin segment does not dilute your premium? Karooooo Logistics is not asset-heavy.

Yes, it is a lower margin business, substantially lower margin business. But like I said earlier, we are reporting these two segments separately, and we are looking at the business and the margins, and the consolidated is not what we look at. We look at each segment separately. With that's all the questions for today. I thank everybody for joining us. Thank you. Bye-bye.

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