Following a recent review of our strategy and a subsequent management restructure during the year, we focused on renewing existing contracts and establishing a solid foundation for future growth. The introduction of new technologies and the extension of services utilising the current infrastructure have created significant growth opportunities.

During the year, we renewed contracts with an annualised revenue of R975 million and secured new contracts with an annualised revenue of R222 million against a loss of contracts worth R55 million in annualised revenue.

The agricultural sector presents growth opportunities

Unitrans has been providing supply chain solutions to the agricultural sector in Africa since 1962. Our operations are currently situated in eSwatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.

Our operational management, based primarily on our customers’ sugar estates and working closely with their staff, are continuously developing solutions to improve efficiencies and maximise customer yields. This creates opportunities for Unitrans to expand both the nature of the work performed and our services into new territories, thereby increasing the level of support to our customers.

Traditionally, we provided services such as haulage and field preparation to the agricultural sector. The successful completion of trials using precision farming techniques is enabling us to expand our agricultural service offering into new technology-driven complementary farming services.

Precision farming techniques are widely practised on other continents. Various technologies are used to improve yields, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Unitrans has implemented drone surveying to conduct normalised difference vegetation index (‘NDVI’) mapping.

The data accumulated through this process is analysed to identify areas which may require additional irrigation or fertiliser, or those that will not produce the required yield and should therefore not be fertilised. The application of fertilisers and agrochemicals is varied in line with the specific requirements obtained from advanced soil analysis, multispectral drone mapping and satellite imagery. The variable rate application is achieved through leading GPS-controlled equipment and technologies, ensuring precise placement of the fertiliser within the fields.

We have invested significantly in the development of our operational and information management systems in order to improve operational efficiency and visibility to our management and customers. These management systems, together with our experience and skills in managing a wide variety of vehicle fleets, have created the capability to provide a total fleet management solution for our clients’ entire operations, in addition to the management of our own contracted vehicles and equipment.

Expanding road freight servicess

Our road freight operations have historically been heavily weighted towards both cross-border and in-country fuel distribution. Unitrans services all the major blue-chip fuel companies in the Southern African Development Community region. We are able to secure this business on the basis of our safety record and high level of efficiency and service.

Commodity freight represents an enormous industry in Africa, generally supported by the transport of inbound consumables and outbound commodities. The experience we have gained by operating in Africa for decades, together with the existing footprint and infrastructure to support these services, creates a strategic platform from which we can expand our operations into a broader road freight sector. We are therefore in the process of expanding our inbound and outbound road freight services and see significant opportunity in this space.