BUSINESS REPORTER
Zimplow Holdings Limited will conclude the acquisition of Barloworld’s stake in Barzem by the end of next month, CEO Vimbayi Nyakudya has said, as the group seeks to use the infrastructure to pivot its business.
The group is acquiring the stake at a 20% discount.
“We are in the final stages of the Barzem acquisition; our joint venture partnership with Barloworld. We believe that in the next 6 weeks we should be able to close that transaction,” Nyakudya said.
“Over and above that we believe in the next couple of months we should be able to have another OEM [original equipment manufacturer] that will replace Caterpillar from a premium brand positioning that as Zimplow we are seeking to position ourselves in.”
Nyakudya said while there has been slow progress in terms of the acquisition, the ZSE-listed entity has positioned its unit, Tractive Power Solutions, as a go to partner for after sales services.
“We have secured many service level agreements,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zimplow’s unit TrenTyre has opened a flagship branch in the city centre as part of its decentralisation strategy and moving closer to customers.
TrenTyre generates about 15% of the group’s revenue.
It specialises in new tyres with Goodyear as the anchor brand and has also increased retreads to 3000 tyres per month from 1600.
“We believe being here [new branch] speaks to our agenda to bring Goodyear to our customers,” Nyakudya said.
Zimplow acquired TrenTyre in 2021.
In a trading update for the quarter ended March 31, Zimplow Holdings Limited reported an 8% drop in revenue from the same period last year due to the delays in receipts for most of our key customers in both agriculture and the logistics sectors, emanating from the constrained liquidity environment.
However, the group is bullish on the outlook, banking on a strong order book.
“The group has a strong order book to support the recovery of performance in Q2 and Q3 given the projected trading environment,” group company secretary Sharon Manangazira said in a trading update for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.
