Karooooo Plans Goodwill Impairment Amid Mozambique Upheaval

Nasdaq-listed Karooooo, which provides vehicle-tracking and fleet-management services, will provide for an impairment of goodwill in its Mozambique operations due to the political upheaval gripping the southeast African nation.

Mozambique has endured months of tension following disputed 9 October elections, and the Decide Platform, a local group tracking the violence, says more than 350 people have died.

While demonstrations against President Daniel Chapo, who was declared the winner of the vote, have dissipated over recent weeks, sporadic unrest continues.'

Theres been a serious impact on our business and on our customers' businesses,' Zak Calisto, Karooooo's founder and chief executive, said in an interview. We've had to take a few thousand vehicles off our platform because the vehicles were burned down, the warehouses aren't working, and the factories aren't working.'

The turmoil has cost the country an estimated 3 of gross domestic product and affected a number of other companies.