We Buy Cars Holdings Limited ($WBC)

Good day, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm Faan van Der Walt, Chief Executive Officer of We Buy Cars. It's a pleasure to present our interim results for the 6 months ended March 2026. Alongside me, I have 3 of my colleagues. Firstly, Dr. Wynand Beukes, our Deputy CEO; then Chris Rein, our Chief Financial Officer; and Willem Klopper, our Chief Strategy Officer, who is also responsible for Investor Relations. I will begin with an overview of our performance for the period [indiscernible] market conditions and outline some strategic priorities. Chris will then take you through our financial performance in detail, followed by Willem, who will present an update on our ESG initiatives as well as our property expansion plans for the period ahead. After Willem's presentation, there will be time for a Q&A session. [Operator Instructions]. Let's start with our performance overview. The first 6 months of the 2026 financial year delivered a resilient performance, particularly when viewed against a challenging and deflationary trading environment. Revenue increased by 7.8% to ZAR 14.2 billion, supported by a combination of higher volumes and higher average selling prices. Units bought increased by 3.2% to 95,328 units while units sold rose by 2.3% to 93,519 vehicles. Encouragingly, sales volumes exceeded 50,500 units in 4 of the last 6 months, [indiscernible] in an all-time monthly sales record of 17,209 units in March 2026. Furthermore, January 2026 marked a record month for buying with 17,617 vehicles purchased. These significant milestones demonstrate the growing scale, reach and operational capacity of the group and reinforce the group's growth momentum. Headline earnings and core headline earnings for the period amounted to ZAR 500.1 million, a modest decrease of 1.6% compared to the prior period's ZAR 580.2 million. The performance follows a continued challenging and deflationary trading environment, which is in strong contrast to the buoy and trading conditions experienced in the prior period. The core headline earnings were also impacted by the opening of 3 new supermarkets following a drive to invest ahead of the curve to secure expansion in key strategic areas. Headline earnings per share was ZAR 119.7, 1.7% lower compared to the ZAR 121.8 in the prior comparable period. The group's liquidity and solvency remained healthy and the strength of the balance sheet [indiscernible] at the working capital required for new supermarket openings. In line with our dividend policy of distributing between 25% and 33% of headline earnings, the Board has declared a gross interim cash dividend of ZAR 0.33 per ordinary share. This represents a payout ratio of 27.5% at an increase of 10% compared to the prior period interim dividend of ZAR 0.30 per share. To fully contextualize these results, it's important to recognize the adverse conditions faced during the period. It was characterized by a constrained consumer environment and a continued shift in market dynamics. Most consumers in under financial pressure, which drove a noticeable shift away from higher-priced vehicles towards more accessible value-driven alternatives. At the same time, the affordable segment has become increasingly competitive, particularly with the rapid rise of Asian vehicle manufacturers entering the South African market with compelling price value propositions. This has altered pricing dynamics and consumer behavior across certain segments. Consumer confidence remains subdued for much of the period, which weighed on demand and tempered purchasing activity. This was further compounded by tighter credit conditions with bank approval rates remaining below prior year levels. Together, these factors created a challenging operating environment and required us to actively manage the residual impact of an inventory mix that needed careful and responsible realignment. Used vehicle prices experienced deflation in the higher value segments over the 6-month period. To maintain liquidity and ensure healthy inventory turns, we proactively adjusted selling prices on certain vehicles particularly those competing with attractively priced new vehicles from Asian brands. While this was a disciplined and necessary response it did place pressure on margins and require time to fully work through our sales cycles. At the same time, the South African new vehicle market delivered strong growth expanding by 15.7% during the 2025 calendar year. This growth was largely driven by competitively priced Asian brands, which gained significant market share. through attractive pricing and innovative finance offerings. Traditional manufacturers responded with increased competitiveness, further compressing the historical price advantage of used vehicles relative to new vehicles. Importantly, this presents an opportunity for We Buy Cars as these newer vehicles begin to enter the used vehicle market, they will expand our acquisition base and materially increase the depth and breadth of inventory available to us. While the current environment has been challenging, it has not altered our medium- to long-term growth trajectory. On the contrary, we have used this period to strengthen our operational foundation, enhance our processes and position the business for continued scale. We remain firmly on track to achieve our stated aspiration of buying and selling 23,000 vehicles per month by 2028. During the period, we successfully opened 3 new supermarkets. Montana in Pretoria North in November 2025, lands down in Capetown, January 2026 and Witbank in [indiscernible] February 2026. All 3 of these developments were delivered on budget with lands down opening 6 weeks later than planned due to unforeseen municipal delays. These additions increased our national parking bay capacity by 23.6%, representing a material and transformative step towards achieving our financial year 2028 volume targets. Total parking capacity now stands at 15,614 bays, while our employee base has grown to 3,772 people. Our national footprint now includes 20 supermarkets and 109 buying pods, reflecting continued and disciplined expansion across South Africa later. Willem will provide further details on our expansion pipeline and capital deployment strategy. In closing, despite a more challenging trading environment, We Buy Cars has delivered a resilient and commendable performance. We continue to scale our operations and made meaningful progress on our strategic priorities. With that, I will now hand over to Dr. Wynand Beukes, who will provide further insights into the broader market landscape including developments in the South African vehicle park. Our operational innovations that we are implementing to further differentiate and future prove our business as well as an update on the Robert acquisition. Thank you.

Thank you, Faan. Good day, everyone. I look forward to sharing some perspectives on the market dynamics that are shaping our industry. And on innovations, we are deploying to stay ahead. Let me start with the vehicle park. This slides provide context on the market landscape and highlights why we see significant potential for continued long-term growth. The graph illustrates the overall South African vehicle park which has grown steadily over the past decade. The light line depicts the consistent growth in the total number of registered vehicles on the South African roads. The darker green line shows that the new vehicle replenishment rate increased strongly over the past year, well above the vehicle write-off rate, reflecting a growing park and expanding pool of vehicles that will ultimately flow into the used vehicle market. The 7-year compound annual growth rate for used vehicle registrations is 0.8%, whilst the new vehicle market is growing at a 7-year compound annual growth rate of 1.1%. The population is currently distributed approximately 73% used and 27% new vehicles, a structural backdrop that reinforces the scale of the long-term opportunity we are pursuing. Our volume growth in recent years are significantly outpaced that of the broader used vehicle market with a 7-year compound annual growth rate of 24.3%, demonstrating our continued success in expanding market share with the relative stable market. This slide brings to life the shift that Faan touched on in his overview. New vehicle registrations grew by 15.7% in 2025 calendar year, fueled largely by the rapid rise of competitive priced Asian brands. These manufacturers have captured notable new vehicle market share through attractive pricing, compelling financing offerings and technology forward products that resonate strongly with South African consumers. Traditional manufacturers have responded aggressively intensifying price competition across the market and further compressing the value differential that has historically made used vehicles, the preferred choice of many motorists. This dynamic has been one of the primary drivers after the deflationary margin environment we experienced during the period. Over the same period, used vehicle registrations have remained largely flat. This tells an important story. We Buy Cars has continued to grow its market share even as the broader used vehicle market has stagnated. This gives us confidence in the longer-term picture. The significant growth in the new vehicle park means that a much larger pool of vehicles will start entering the used market over the coming years. Asian brand vehicles, in particular, are beginning to appear in our buying mix as more of these vehicles enter the market in time, they will expand our acquisition opportunity as opposed to the current dynamic where only a small percentage of these vehicles have transitioned to the used vehicle market. I want to spend a moment on what underpins our ability to navigate and capitalize on these dynamics, namely, our proprietary digital business platform. This platform empowers us to optimize operations through dynamic data-driven pricing strategies and large-scale experimentation. As the business scales, the volume of data we gather grows with it. providing invaluable insights that fuel ongoing efficiencies, improvements and sharpen our buying and selling processes. Let's touch on some of our strategic initiatives. Firstly, Inspectify. We built Inspectify for 6 reasons, and the data proves it was the right call. First, Inspectify's average condition score is a 30% improvement in accuracy. We have done just south of 95,000 devaluations at end of March in 19 branches with 1 branch outstanding, more accurate inspections in better pricing, fewer losses and better customer satisfaction. Secondly, user friendliness. We replaced static PDF reports with an interactive digital interface in plain language with visual interpretations. The feedback from customers and from our staff has been overwhelmingly positive. Thirdly, it serves the consumer better and transparent condition reporting that raises the bar for the entire industry that creates trust that drives repeat business. Fourthly and fifthly, control of the software and control of the data. By bringing [indiscernible] in-house on the platform, we own the road map and most importantly, we own the data. Every inspection generates data points that feed our pricing algorithms, our inventory decisions and our risk models. The data is a strategic asset. And sixth, Inspectify is a platform for growth. We could, in due course, provide this service to the market. The external interest we are seeing signals a potential future revenue line for the group. We own the asset we own the data and we control the implementation cadence. Secondly, we acquired a 49% stake of GoBid, effective, 23 December 2025. The early signs are very encouraging. GoBid is a profitable, well-run digital auction business, the strong management team, capable technology and an agile operating culture. This business gives us access to additional link in the vehicle value chain. The investment formalizes what we are already a business relationship and ensure we share in the company's expected growth. One of the first synergies that we are focusing on is the customers we previously couldn't serve as we buy cars. Historically, when a caster wanted to sell a vehicle, particularly a non-runner or one with significant mechanical damage we [indiscernible] walked away. The customer was unserved and the deal was lost. Today, our buyers can make an offer as an agent of GoBid on those vehicles. The customer is served on the spot. The unit moves through GoBid's auction channel where it can be monetized properly and every profitable sale GoBid makes. We now share in that income. GoBid is an example of what we can do when something is adjacent to our core business. and someone else is already doing it well. We invest selectively. We let great operators, keep operating, and we will make sure that the strategic alignment and economic alignment is real. Lastly, we think -- to date, the finance and insurance process at We Buy Cars relied on third-party platforms to facilitate the customer journey from lead to contract. This means that critical touch points, data and process controls set outside our direct sphere of influence. We think change that. By building and owning our own proprietary finance and insurance platform, We Buy Cars has brought every step of the finance origination process in-house, giving the business ownership of the customer experience, the data and the operational controls that drive performance. We [indiscernible] fully integrated with our inventory management system, automating stock reservation directly from the finance approval, closing the gap between our finance and inventory processes. The platform is also an enabler of our strategy to incorporate alternative financing solutions like Capitec purpose loans, alongside traditional vehicle asset finance. This equips customers to make a financing choice that's right for them. With that, I'll hand over to Chris to elaborate on our financial performance during the period.

Thank you, Wynand. Good morning to you all, and thank you for taking the time to participate in our 31 March 2026 interim results presentation. Before taking you through our results, I'd like to share a few contextual comments that may be useful in interpreting this set of interims. The numbers in the interim financial statements have been compiled in full compliance with IFRS. And the principal accounting policies are consistent with those applied when preparing the annual financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2025. We think that the quality of earnings is very good, and I would encourage everyone to read the condensed interim results and cash dividend declaration, which sets out a huge amount of useful information and gives a more comprehensive insight into the interim results. The Web Cars group delivered headline earnings and core headline earnings of for the 6 months ended 31 March 2026, down 1.6% on the prior comparable period. Faan has taken you through the salient features at a high level. But highlights from my perspective include a 7.8% increase in revenue; buying and selling volumes of 95,328 and 93,519 units, up 3.2% and 2.3%, respectively. Sales volumes exceeded 15,500 units in 4 of the last 6 months, culminating in an all-time sales record in March 2026, and an all-time buying record in January 2026. The successful opening of 3 new supermarkets in November, January and February, expanding the national sales capacity by 23.6% and Headline earnings per share of ZAR 119.7, 1.7% down on the prior comparable period and the declaration of an interim cash ordinary dividend of ZAR 0.33 per ordinary share 10% up on the ZAR 0.30 declared in the prior period. The next slide sets out a summary of our consolidated statement of profit and loss. We recorded a 2.3% increase in units sold and a 7.8% increase in revenue at ZAR 14.2 billion. The EBITDA was down 1.3% and the operating profit was down 4% on the prior comparable period. The operating profit percentage at 5% at the half year mark compares favorably to other listed motor industry peers in South Africa, whose motor retail OP percentages range from 2.7% to 3.5% in the most recently published results. The business delivered headline earnings just north of ZAR 500 million, 1.6% down on the prior comparable period. Higher volumes, higher average selling prices and cost efficiencies driven by economies of scale contributed positively to earnings. But the main challenge in the period under review was 1 of lower gross margins in a challenging deflationary trading environment. Faan and Wynand have explained in detail the challenging trading conditions and some of the reasons for the lower margin achieved. Hypothetically, to give you some context on the scale of the Web Buy Cars business and the impact of margin on the business, A 1% higher gross margin would have had ZAR 139 million favorable impact on gross margins in this 6-month period, which equates to ZAR 101 million of net profit after tax. The finance and insurance income, which is disclosed in the consolidated interim financial statements under revenue, increased by 13% from ZAR 251.4 million to ZAR 284.2 million, a particularly pleasing performance. I will elaborate more on this, and I'll take you through the finance channel later. Another positive contributor to the bottom line was an improved net insurance result. Our insurance cell captive delivered a profit of ZAR 71.5 million in the current period. compared to ZAR 54.8 million in the prior 6-month period. This represents a 30.4% improvement in both periods, both 6-month periods were accounted for in line with the requirements of IFRS 17, the accounting standard for insurance contracts. Wynand gave you some background on our acquisition of a 49% equity stake in Go bid earlier. In this regard, we have equity accounted ZAR 17.5 million being our share of the 3 months of profit earned by GoBid since the effective date of 1 January 2026. Moving to earnings and headline earnings. I'm pleased to report that we had no core headline earnings adjustment during the current and the prior comparable 6-month period. Headline earnings, at ZAR 501.1 million or 1.6% down on the comparable period and headline earnings per share at $1.197, is 1.7% down on the prior period. I'm going to spend some time on this and the next slide to highlight a few key and important concepts. The operating profit at ZAR 701.1 million is 4% down on the prior comparable period. And the operating profit was not only impacted by margin pressure but it was also impacted by the fact that the last 6 months was a high-growth expansionary period for the group. We Buy Cars invested ahead of the curve in its people and its physical and IT infrastructure. In this regard, in the last 6 months, we grew the head count by 210 employees to 3,772 employees. And the investment into the tech stack continued. As explained in previous results announcements, we expense and do not capitalize the software development costs. I will return to the slide to explain finance costs, but before that, some context on our geographic footprint expansion. With the opening of [indiscernible], Montana, Landon and Witbank supermarkets. In the last 8 months, we've added ZAR 596.6 million to the land and buildings and ZAR 587 million to the inventory on the balance sheet. This is in line with the guidance given in our 30 September 2025 results announcements. Now back to the finance cost. The finance cost at ZAR 73.1 million were 18.1% up on the prior comparable period. The increased finance costs were primarily a function of the investment in land and buildings for new supermarkets, funded by mortgage loans, the additional working capital required for these new supermarkets. The average prime interest rate in South Africa, which was 0.9% lower on a time [indiscernible] basis in the 6 months to 31 March 2026, when compared to the 6 months to 31 March 2025. And the finance costs were proactively managed and lower interest rates were agreed to with our working capital funding providers. The effective taxation rate was lower than the company tax rate of 27% due to exempt dividend income, the higher net insurance result and the higher equity accounted earnings, as discussed earlier. The insurance income is taxed in the Guardrisk insurance cell captive and the equity accounted earnings of post tax. On the next slide, adjusted EBITDA at ZAR 789 million, is 1.3% down on the prior comparable period. Core operating profit at ZAR 701 million, is down 4% on the prior period and the core headline earnings at ZAR 500 million or down 1.6% on the prior period. The lower graph shows the cash conversion in H1 of F '26 when compared to the same periods in the 2025 and the 2024 financial years. In the current 6 months, we generated net cash from operating activities of ZAR 65.4 million. This is significantly down on the prior comparable period, primarily a function of the working capital required for the 3 new supermarkets opened during the current period. The cash conversion at 13% was similarly impacted by a ZAR 367 million inventory build in the current 6-month period. The next slide sets out a sales channel analysis for the 6 months under review. Total units sold were up 2.3% sales to dealers, which is the B2B category, were up 5.8% at 22,009 units. Demand from our dealers was higher in the current 6-month period. The majority of these sales are enabled on the online auction engine, where we conduct a new arrival auction every day of the week. As the supermarket footprint has grown, we've proactively added dealers to our auction ecosystem. Finance transactions, which is the B2C F&I category at 16,323 units, was down 1.5% on the prior period. It was a difficult 6 months for the finance channel despite a declining interest rate environment with lower levels of consumer confidence, and consumers displaying a lower propensity to take on new debt. This channel was also impacted by lower bank approval rates and the competitive product offerings from the Asian OEMs. The enhancements made to our Wavin finance application and enablement platform should positively impact efficiencies, product sales and finance sales volumes going forward. Despite the lower number of finance deals, we managed to grow our finance and insurance commission income by 13% to ZAR 284.2 million. We have been particularly successful in selling comprehensive insurance cover and tracking devices on cash sales in the period under review. The private cash channel showed a 2.1% increase to 55,187 units, a constant supply of affordable vehicles to meet the demand for mobility at the appropriate price points. is the ingredient for success in this channel. Our partnership with Capitec Bank is bearing fruit. In this 6-month period, we sold approximately 750 vehicles a month funded in part or in full by unsecured Capitec purpose loan. This now represents approximately 8.3% of private vehicle sales. From a balance sheet perspective, the investment in property, plant and equipment is up 28.8%. The majority of the [indiscernible] plant and equipment, more specifically, ZAR 1.7 billion thereof is the land and buildings that are owned by the group from which the group trades. In the last 12 months, we added ZAR 368.1 million to the land and buildings on the balance sheet. The [indiscernible], Montana, Lansdown and Witbank facilities, as explained earlier. The increase in equity accounted investments is attributable primarily to the group's 49% equity interest in GoBid, with a historic cost of ZAR 376.8 million and a carrying value of ZAR 386.6 million at the end of March 2026. Our inventories, which are up 19.7% have grown to fill the recently added supermarket capacity. We currently have some space available and will buy a responsibly to fill this available capacity. The inventory value per unit at ZAR 187,081, has increased slightly when compared to the ZAR 186,357 per unit at 30 September 2025. This is a function of the large volumes of more affordable vehicles priced at between ZAR 50,000 and ZAR 150,000, which are currently selling at higher inventory returns. Total interest-bearing liabilities were 55.3%, up on the prior period, and I will elaborate more on liabilities on the next slide. A company's debt levels are always of interest to investors, We Buy Cars as a cash-generative business and is conservatively geared. The net interest-bearing liabilities at ZAR 2.1 billion of 55.8%, up on the prior comparative period. This debt comprises property mortgage loans of ZAR 1.1 billion to fund properties with a net book value of ZAR 1.7 billion and working capital facilities of ZAR 571.7 million to fund inventory with a carrying value of ZAR 3.3 billion. You will see that we also funded the acquisition of GoBid with a short-term working capital funding line. And post 31 March 2026, this bridge funding was converted to ZAR 270 million 3-year term loan. The loan to value for the property bridge loans has dropped from 72.7% in the prior period to 67.4% at 31 March 2026, and the loan to value for the working capital loans has increased slightly from 13.5% in the prior period to 17.2% at 31 March 2026. From this slide and the previous slide, it is clear that the increase in inventories and the land and buildings was only partly funded by interest-bearing borrowings. As a consequence of this prudent management of our own levels, We Buy Cars has comfortably met all [indiscernible] covenants, and has ZAR 548 million of undrawn banking facilities to fund future growth initiatives. From a cash flow perspective, the cash generated by operations is down 52% period-on-period, and the cash generated from operating activities is down 77%. As set out on the growth initiative slide that I showed you earlier, these metrics have been impacted by the inventory of ZAR 470.1 million and the working capital required to open the 3 new supermarkets in Montana landsdown and Witbank in the current 6-month period. My final slide addresses the interim cash ordinary dividend for the 6 months ended 31 March 2026. As set out in the Web cars pre-listing statement, the company's dividend policy as a high-level benchmark is to declare between 25% and 33% of its headline earnings the dividend, subject to working capital requirements and the capital expenditure required for expansion. We Buy Cars as a growth company and intends to responsibly grow its footprint across South Africa. It believes that there are opportunities to capitalize on in the short to medium term, some of which Willem will speak to next and the pursuit and efficient execution of these opportunities should add value to shareholders. In this morning's SENS announcement, the Board of We BuyCars notified shareholders that are gross interim cash ordinary dividend of $0.33 per ordinary share has been declared at today's date. The dividend has been calculated at 27.5% of the headline earnings of We Buy Cars for the 6 months to 31 March 2026 and 10% up on the interim cash ordinary dividend declared for the 6 months to 31 March 2025. Thank you for your time and for your interest in these results. I will now hand over to our Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Investor Relations, Willem Klopper. Thank you.

Thank you, Chris. I'll begin with an update on our people, social and other ESG initiatives areas that continue to play an increasingly important role in shaping the long-term sustainability of the group. Thereafter, I'll provide an update on our infrastructure expansion strategy, including developments across our branch networks. One of the most pleasing aspects of the past year has been the continued growth of our team. Our staff complement increased to 3,772 employees during the period, reflecting the addition of around 210 employees across the various divisions in this half. As the business grows, we remain focused on building a workforce that is increasingly representative and inclusive. Black NPEs now account for 72.3% of total staff while female representation has increased to 22%, with both metrics improving period-on-period. Beyond the business itself, the work of our We Care team continues to make a meaningful impact on many of the communities surrounding our operations. Through long-standing partnerships with community organizations across the country, the team remains involved in initiatives, expanding education, youth development, food support programs and broader committee upliftment efforts. Our investment in solar infrastructure has continued to expand with generating capacity now installed at 13 of our 20 branches. These systems contributed to approximately 22.4% of the group's total electricity consumption during the period. Encouraging progress has been made in our water sustainability initiatives. Water harvesting systems are now operational at 11 of our 20 branches and supplied to 35.1% of our water requirements during the period compared to 22.6% in the prior period. This significant increase was largely attributable to the performance of the advanced wash base systems installed at both the dome and the Montana facilities, together with favorable rainfall across the high fold region, which is also a key reason why the solar generation has slightly reduced. On the BEE front, the group concluded the most recent reporting period with a level 6B rating. Management is [indiscernible] a Level 5 rating in the next scoring cycle, and the commitments already in place give us confidence this is an achievable objective. Looking ahead, key priority within our broader ESG strategy is conducting a thorough gap analysis against the JSE sustainability climate disclosure guidance. [indiscernible] can expect the next integrated report to provide more meaningful, measurable and transparent ESG-related disclosures. We are still early in our journey where we're making meaningful practical changes that are having tangible benefits within the scope. From a physical infrastructure perspective, we've made meaningful progress in the last 6 months. As Faan mentioned earlier, management is excited that Landsdown, Montana and Witbank are now open. It is now our responsibility to ensure that these new supermarkets achieve optimal operating efficiency as quickly as possible. In that regard, volumes through Montana have been particularly encouraging. It is positioned within a well-established motoring node and has allowed us to mature faster than Amazon, which we expect will continue to build momentum as it settles over the coming months. Our buying part strategy continues to perform well, and the rollout has been delivering very good results. This container size evaluation-based sites are strategically located at high-traffic retail centers across the country. making it easier and more convenient for customers to sell their vehicles. We now have 109 buying parts across South Africa, and they continue to make up an increased percentage of the vehicles we buy. A number of vehicles bought at these parts right, up about 20% of overall purchases, and the absolute number of vehicles bought is up 11% on the prior period. The [indiscernible] also continued to play a valuable role in optimizing our logistics network, particularly in the larger metros. [indiscernible], we recently concluded a lease agreement for a site of approximately 1.2 hectares in [indiscernible]. The property, which was previously operated as a BMW and Mini dealership is well positioned for conversion into a We Buy Cars facility with development work already underway and operations expected to commence in August 2026. We -- in line with our approach at Witbank, the [indiscernible] facility will follow a hybrid format, allowing us to establish a strong operational presence in the region through a more efficient capital conscious model without the need for a traditional large format supermarket. The free state remains an important market for our group. Even without a physical branch in the free state, the Northern Cape and Free State regions are already contributing meaningful volumes to the business with approximately 550 purchases and 300 sales per month. Historically, we've seen noticeable acceleration in purchasing volumes once a permanent facility is established in the region, and we are optimistic that [indiscernible] will follow the same trend. We believe the facility will not only strengthen our operational footprint in the free state, but also materially improve the convenience and service delivery for customers in the area. Our commercial vehicle division has continued to show encouraging momentum, both in terms of activity levels and overall market traction. Actual performance confirmed management's initial business case. And therefore, we feel it's appropriate to now transition the division into a more prominent, visible and strategically located facility. Therefore, we are relocating the business to a new 3-hectare site during cluster which is currently leased by GoBid and is positioned adjacent to the R21 highway. The location offers great visibility and direct access to one of Harting's key trucking and logistics corridors. As previously mentioned, we allocated additional focus and resources to strengthen this team. And as a result, compared to the prior period, the division achieved revenue growth of 11% and gross profit growth of 17%. In addition, the increased space and improved positioning will support the continued expansion of our commercial offering and provide a stronger platform for growth within this business segment. Progress we've made during this period, driven by our people, infrastructure, technology and strategic partnerships not only reflects how far We Buy Cars has come, but also strengthens our confidence in the opportunities ahead. We're proud of our accomplishments, particularly given the difficult market conditions. Our enthusiasm for the future remains as we continue to grow our footprint and national reach and as we look to increase our market share in the years to come. We will now go to the Q&A on of this presentation. Please continue to submit questions on the link provided. Thank you.

Thank you, and thank you for everyone who've submitted questions so far. We'll try and tackle them from 1 side. There are quite a few that we might not be able to answer this morning, but we are seeing many of these analyst over the course of the week. So we'll try and answer them during the week if we can't address them today. So I'll try and prioritize especially the guys that we're not seeing this week. I'm going to doubt into it. Wynand, the first was to you. It's around the market share that you stated. Management has indicated that We Buy Cars has continued to gain market share during the period. Can you please elaborate on how you measure market share internally, including the key metrics of the industry sources that you use? In addition, how is this market share evolved over time?

Thank you, Willem. Yes, we've been measuring our market area as a percentage of used vehicle registrations from [indiscernible]. The trajectory has been positive over the last number of years. In 2023, we're at 8.3%. In 2024, at 9.9%. In '25, I think at 10.1%. In H1, '26, we're at 10.55%. The positive for H1 FY '26 is quarter 2 where we ended up at 11%. Now we had record buying and sales months in Jan this year and March, which is a record high. And we sold more than 17,000 vehicles in March '26. So we've been growing our market share in this first half despite the flat deflationary use market. And it shows that we can react given our data and pricing was a tough period.

Thanks, Wynand. Faan, the next one is straight to you regarding the sale of shares in January, and it attracted quite a lot of market attention. The question here is, could you please provide some context about the rationale for the disposal. It also has this changed your long-term outlook and confidence in We Buy Cars.

Yes, I'm actually glad the question came up. It gives me the opportunity to provide some clarity on this topic. The decision to dispose some shares is a decision that was already made in the last quarter of 2025. And it should be viewed in the context of prudent long-term financial management of our portfolio and also diversification. The decision was made to fund certain obligations and from an exit plan perspective, especially with the growth that We Buy Cars experienced since listing, it became necessary to rebalance our portfolio in line with its investment strategy. To put the whole topic in perspective, Dirk and I remain large shareholders in We Buy Cars, nearly 6%, which represents around ZAR 1 billion worth of investment. So we are fully committed and probably the largest individual shareholder in We Buy Cars. So we believe in the long-term prospects of We Buy Cars, it's our baby and we are fully committed to We Buy Cars.

Thanks. Chris, I'm going to ask you a clunky question because it's an aggregation of -- or 2 or 3 questions that was asked from a few analysts. And it's regarding inventory. The question is how much of the inventory balance buildup is linked to the new sites? You've addressed it, but I think you can maybe just touch on that again. And then there's a few questions around the inventory per unit. So if you can help and reconcile the inventory per unit cost versus the average selling price and the mismatch there? And maybe just touch on that sort of linked to the strategy of trying to buy more affordable vehicles during the period? And can analysts then conclude some of the expensive vehicles we're taking longer to sell.

Right. Thanks, Willem. Let me start with -- so there was a slide in the presentation where we dealt with the inventory build for the -- we actually had the 4 new sites, including [indiscernible]. So with [indiscernible], the total investment in inventory and the inventory balance as at the end of March was ZAR 586 million. If we were to include for anything which we have actually opened in August 2025. The inventory for the 3 sites that we -- the most recent 3 site openings was $470 million. So I think that handles the first part of your question. On the sort of inventory balance in total, so we would have -- you would have seen the inventory balance in total going up ZAR 367 million in the 6-month period. And giving you then an indicator that we do have some available trading base at the end of March, which we are selectively buying up and filling, and we're doing that in a responsible fashion in a responsible manner. I also spoke to the average inventory value at the end of March compared to at the end of September 2025. And that number was sort of ZAR 187,000 a vehicle versus ZAR 186, 000. So the observation is correct. The average inventory price has gone up probably close to ZAR 1,000 a unit. And really that is really a function of us prioritizing the leads on the more affordable vehicles, but more importantly, that those vehicles sell through very quickly. So our inventory in the ZAR 50,000 to ZAR 150,000 price brackets, the inventory turn there is faster and those vehicles, as I say, flow through and sell through quicker.

Thank you. I'll tackle the next one to give you guys a break. It's around blueprinting, but also, I guess, the greater criteria that we consider in deciding where to open a new branch such as [indiscernible]. So there's a few data sets that we use. I guess the first point of call is the amount of used vehicle registrations in a specific area. In the case of Blueprint, you widen that net a little bit because the catchment also includes some other parts of the free state like Valcom, Virginia, [indiscernible] and then also cities like Kimberly. Further to that, we also see the amount of interactions that the population in that area has on our electronic platforms like our apps and our website. And then we've got the benefit of not before we make a very big decision, we can always deploy more buyers in that area to confirm the trust in the brand and the service, which we have done. And then one additional thing that sort of help us prioritize which cities to expand to is the loan activity. So there we take a bit of guidance from our banking partners like a Capitec in a Westpac and an ASO where they confirm our -- I guess, our gut feel. It's the same set of data that we've used to identify places like Witbank for [indiscernible], Rustenburg, an expansion in Lansdown and in Montana. A place like [indiscernible] has been on our radar and our priority list for many years. We've just never found the right site. And I guess before we pull the trigger in the end, we always look at cost per bay, and that needs to make sense for us. And we finally find it and Blueprint that meets all those criteria. So that's the site and sort of that's the data that we use before we make that decision. [indiscernible]. The next one is for you, but I think, Faan, you might want to elaborate a little bit. With the influx of Chinese brands into the South African market, there's obviously been very, very strong new vehicle sales. What is our expectation and how do we think about sort of modeling the entry of the Chinese brand into the used space and the opportunity it presents to We Buy Cars in the future.

Thank you, Willem. I think the first important point to make is that We Buy Cars as a business is brand agnostic. And we getting in this cycle we were in in this disflationary cycle, we say cyclic and not out structural. We know [indiscernible] brand is up 17.5% last year, which largely been made up of Chinese vehicles. And I think there's about a 2- to 3-year lag for these vehicles to come into the market. They aggressively started entering the market in March '24. So it's now been 12 or 24 months since they've entered. Currently, in the [indiscernible], we see around 5% of vehicles we trade is off the Chinese origin. But what's interesting is in '24, for full year, we sold just over 3,000 vehicles and '25, just below 4,000. And interesting enough, in H1 '26, we've sold almost just as many vehicles as in the full year of '25. So that just shows the Chinese inflow of wave appears to be in the early phase of arriving. And if the H1 '26 old firm we can see this become a meaningful share of the work our stock intake. Yes. Well, I think also important to understand that buoyant new vehicle sales is a very good sign for the industry. whether it's from whatever brands doesn't matter because there's an influx. It feeds the whole car pool for us. knowing that the carpet is growing and that sort of activity is there is a really good sign. So for us, I think the prospects is really good in terms of the Chinese. When we look at the performance of Chinese vehicles within the Web car table, it's only been positive, the quality remains. We -- some of these Chinese brands have been around for longer than the 24 months you referred to. I think the big influx only started in the last 2 years, but other [indiscernible] old GWM. They've been around for a decade or longer, and they've proven themselves. These brands do keep value well because they come in at a price point that's extremely competitive. And there's been no reliability issues. So we are looking forward to us benefiting from the Chinese.

Thank you, Faan. Chris, the next one is for you. It's around cash in the balance sheet and the expectation going forward. It actually references some sales reported have been out on rebar cars over the last couple of years. What is the expectation on additional large infrastructure investment as you expand, we didn't -- I guess we did mention [indiscernible] and the R1 size that will be capital light, but you can touch on that. And is there a big expectation for further large developments in the year to come? I think [indiscernible] to that, in addition, how should investors think about the balance sheet on the CapEx and the policy of paying dividends with that.

Thank you, Willem. I think there's probably a few topics in there. The first one, more than likely, the first one relates to this most recent round of expansion that we've gone through. And we we explained, I think, in adequate detail at the end of September last year that we were going to spend ZAR 600 million on [indiscernible] buildings and ZAR 600 million on inventory for Wood bank, Lansdown and Montana. And you would have seen on one of the earlier slides that we've managed to get it sort of under budget and within those guardrails. As you've just explained, Willem, the [indiscernible] opportunity and the R21 for the commercial are -- first of all, leases and then on top of that, very capital-light sort of solutions. As we model the growth going forward and the additional parking bays that we're going to need to get to 23,000 units per month in 2028. We are agnostic as to whether we buy or build facilities or whether we enter into leases. But in our forecast and models, we've got the additional parking bays as leases. And I guess already been proven on the 580 additional bays that you spoke to earlier. With that in mind, sort of the more capital light and the investment sort of in plant and equipment should stabilize. And maybe just to link that back to our company dividend policy. I think we spent a lot of time at the listing, deciding on the company's policy for dividends. And I think our 25% to 33% guardrail is appropriate for a growth company going forward.

Thank you, Chris. Wynand there's a question. I think you sort of touched on it, but I guess it's on Inspectify, but it's actually inspectifying the world outside of We Buy Cars. It's from a media outlet. Can you maybe expand on the interest of additional commercial opportunities for Inspectify?

Yes, Inspectify, we've covered as well, and we've built it for a number of reasons. And there's some external interest in the Inspectify brand. If I can paint a picture of saying that the road to market is through We Buy Cars. The plan for this year is that we still enhance perfect the evaluation process with Inspectify and we get that locked down in the We Buy Cars [indiscernible], and we get the public used to the Inspectify brand. And maybe to say that, yes, in the near coming future, there might be opportunity to launch and Inspectify as a service to the public.

I guess the other point is our large branch will be converting to Inspectify in the next week or 2. And then -- but the inspectify was always, first and foremost, a service offering to We Buy Cars and its customers. But like you say, that there's always opportunity that can live without We Buy Cars. But first, we want to make sure that it solves all our challenges and, I guess, problem statements first before it lives without the ecosystem.

No. I think Willem, the most important factor is accuracy. Accuracy trumps independence, and we wanted to make sure that we portray the condition of the vehicle as accurately as possible on the sales side, which one of our cornerstones of our business is trust and transparency to the consumer.

Maybe I can add. Vehicle inspections is not only necessary when a vehicle changes ownership, but there's a big demand by fleet owners and rental companies and banks to have their assets evaluated independently in a manner that is technologically advanced. So this also speaks to the future commercial application of Inspectify as we develop it over time.

Thank you. Chris, this is a quick one. There's a question around the change in the effective tax rate and why it's come down. I think you did touch on it, but maybe just as a reminder.

Three factors. The first one is there's a small component of exempt dividend income in the half year result. The other component is the growth that we've seen in the insurance income. So that's effectively the income earned in the Guardris Insurance cell captive and that income is taxed in the cell captive. So the number on the face of the income statement is post tax. And then with the acquisition of GObID, the equity earnings are also accounted for post tax. And then that drops the effective tax rate from the South African rate of 27% to a little bit closer to 23%.

Thank you, Chris. I'm going to give it 30 more seconds to see if there's more questions coming through. I see there's 1 or 2 questions about forward-looking statements and outlooks, which we don't typically go into. And most of the other questions, I think we've covered. If we haven't been able to answer your questions, we'll reach out to you in the next few days and set up a call or reply directly. So thank you very much to the presenters, Faan and Chris, thank you so much, and thank you for listening in.