Strategic intentions

The group remains focused on generating higher returns on capital, while still seeking growth opportunities in and adjacent to our existing industries and geographies to replicate and improve on our past successes. These growth initiatives will take place organically and through acquisition, partnerships and grassroots development.

The group has a strong position in logistics in South Africa and increasingly beyond South Africa’s borders into the rest of Africa. With Africa growing rapidly as we seek the expansion of our footprint on the continent, especially in businesses where our skills set, reputation and customer base can give us a head start.

The recent acquisition of Lehnkering is an example of our strategy of expansion in Europe, where we will focus on growth opportunities within our field of expertise while deepening our involvement in our core business.

The scale of our activities in the automotive retail market offers numerous opportunities for extending and maximising our position in the value chain. Whilst Imperial has for long been in the forefront of exploiting opportunities in insurance, finance, warranties, maintenance and panelbeating, we have still not yet reached our full potential in this market. Our experience in this field stands us in good stead and will enable us to earn ever increasing annuity income streams as our vehicle parc grows and we refine the use of technology and market intelligence.

The distribution of products which carry strong brands in the automotive and industrial markets has developed into a core business for Imperial. We have an excellent reputation in this activity and attractive opportunities regularly present themselves. We will continue to pursue these opportunities and would consider broadening our product range into other applications and industries such as engineering, industrial and mining products.

The Car Rental and Tourism division operates in a market where we can find fewer opportunities for vertical or horizontal expansion. In this division we focus on improving the returns on capital through good asset and capital management.