Pioneer raises US$9,2m for recapitalisation

50 new coaches and 84 trucks.
The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed concern is currently awaiting delivery for eight of the coaches while 34 new trucks are already part of its fleet.
Pioneer chief executive Mr Albert Ushe said US$5,3 million would be used for procurement of buses and US$4 million to buy trucks and an IT upgrade.
Mr Ushe said the plan was to buy 50 new buses to boost the group’s transport and logistics fleet for cross-border, contracts business and local routes.
“In the trucking division, 34 trucks have been purchased and injected into the fleet since the beginning of the year and a further 50 will be added by year end,” he said.
The new bus IT system, which will ensure centralised ticketing system and use of electronic cards for payments by passengers will be commissioned by year end.
Software for customers to track and trace their goods is also being installed and will be introduced before the end of the year for cross border and local freight.
The capital injection demonstrates Pioneer’s commitment to maintain and expand profitability, which has risen 168 percent in the first five months of the year.
“Net profit to date is US$476 354 compared to a loss of US$695 555 in the same period last year. This is a significant movement in business performance,” said Mr Ushe.
He said profitability had been driven largely by the re-modelling and re-structuring strategies the group had implemented in 2010 to streamline business operations and reduce overheads to achieve operational efficiencies.
Revenue has also started showing strong upward growth, firming 17 percent to US$10,7 million on a year to date basis, compared to the same period last year, and the group expects revenue to double by the end of the year.
Increased capacity (trucks) and aggressive marketing strategies driven largely by the cross border division also positively impacted performance to date. As such, revenue from cross border trucking went up by 28 percent.
Going forward the group said that continuing strong demand for imports into the country in terms of fast moving consumer goods from the region, mainly South Africa, would further grow its northbound trucking business.
Increased export volumes from the mining sector has propelled Pioneer’s freight volumes into South Africa and this is expected to continue to year-end and beyond.
The logistics firm said it is now a significant player in terms of capacity and market share in the movement of mining minerals southbound into South Africa.
For passenger, increased capacity through acquisition of new buses will enhance performance of the business by year-end and the group says it expects even stellar performance, as usual, during the last half of its financial year.
“We are profitable in the first half of the year and this trend is expected to continue to year end. In fact, the second half of the year is our strongest performance period and we will capitalise on that. The prospects are bright for Pioneer and significant profit is projected for 2011,” said Mr Ushe.