• Operating cash flow jumped more than tenfold to ZWG101.5 million
• Receivables fell 37.7% as collections released working capital
• Unifreight invested ZWG75.1 million in 40 trucks and trailers

Harare- Unifreight Africa has converted a sharp improvement in collections into a major fleet expansion during the first half of 2026, with net operating cash flow rising to ZWG101.5 million from ZWG9.8 million before the group deployed ZWG75.1 million into 40 new trucks and trailers.

The cash improvement was driven largely by a reduction in receivables. Trade and other receivables fell 37.7% to ZWG141.2 million from ZWG226.8 million at December 2025, releasing cash previously tied up in the debtors book and creating room for capital deployment into the fleet.

Chairman Peter Annesley said the collections effort was central to the improvement in cash generation, adding that working capital previously locked in receivables was now funding fleet investment. He said net cash from operating activities increased more than tenfold during the six months.

The ZWG75.1 million investment more than doubled the comparable H1 2025 vehicle and equipment spend of ZWG19.5 million. The carrying value of Unifreight’s fleet rose 13.7% to ZWG622.0 million, with a further ZWG38.4 million in capital commitments already approved.

That takes the current fleet investment programme to more than ZWG113 million when committed expenditure is included.

Group's chair[erson Peter Annesley said the fleet renewal is intended to reduce maintenance costs, improve fuel economy, increase vehicle availability and strengthen Unifreight’s ability to take additional volumes as regional trade recovers.

The expansion is being funded through a combination of stronger internally generated cash and longer term borrowing. Loans and borrowings rose to ZWG180.4 million at June from ZWG89.4 million at December 2025. Total interest bearing debt increased 34.3% to ZWG236.3 million, with gearing rising to 38.3% from 31.4%.

The shift towards longer dated funding matches the life of the assets being financed. Non current borrowings rose to ZWG157.5 million, reducing reliance on short term funding for fleet investment. Annesley said the Board was comfortable with the resulting structure and that EBITDA covered finance costs 7.1 times.

The higher debt load has already increased financing costs. Finance costs rose 55% to ZWG13.1 million from ZWG8.4 million, with bank borrowing costs almost doubling to ZWG9.8 million from ZWG5.1 million.

The return generated by the new fleet therefore becomes the next operating threshold. Unifreight is carrying more interest bearing debt and a larger fixed asset base, requiring the additional trucks to lift volumes, improve utilisation and generate enough incremental earnings to keep returns ahead of the higher financing cost.

The first half operating numbers provide early support for the capital programme. Revenue increased 8.9% to ZWG434.2 million from ZWG398.9 million, with operating costs rising at a slower 3.8%. EBITDA increased 25.7% to ZWG92.8 million, lifting the EBITDA margin to 21.4% from 18.5%. Profit before tax rose 40.8% to ZWG53.2 million, with the pre tax margin improving to 12.2% from 9.5%.

Annesley attributed the margin expansion to route economics, fleet utilisation and tighter overhead control. The gap between revenue growth and operating cost growth allowed a relatively modest increase in turnover to generate substantially faster earnings growth.

Profit after tax declined to ZWG38.7 million from ZWG148.0 million. The comparison is distorted by a one off ZWG110.2 million deferred tax credit recorded in H1 2025 following the group’s reassessment of its functional currency to the United States dollar. Unifreight recorded a ZWG14.4 million tax charge in the current period.

The underlying operating performance is therefore better captured by the 40.8% increase in profit before tax and the 25.7% rise in EBITDA.

Cash deployment has also changed the composition of the balance sheet. Net investing cash outflow reached ZWG106.7 million during the half, dominated by fleet purchases and a property investment prepayment, while financing activities used another ZWG19.0 million as loan repayments exceeded new borrowing during the period. Cash consequently closed at ZWG7.7 million from ZWG31.8 million at the beginning of the year.

The reduction in cash does not come from deteriorating operations. It follows a period in which operating cash generation strengthened sharply and was redeployed into fleet assets.

Unifreight also withheld an interim dividend, leaving more capital inside the business during the expansion phase. The fleet programme therefore carries a measurable earnings test into the second half. Unifreight has already released cash from receivables, increased operating cash generation more than tenfold and committed over ZWG113 million to vehicles and equipment.

The return now has to come through higher fleet utilisation, additional freight volumes and earnings growth sufficient to absorb the rising finance burden. The first half established the funding capacity. The next results will show how effectively that capital has been converted into additional logistics earnings.

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