Shoprite lifted group revenue 12% to R246.1 billion and increased its full year dividend by 7.4% to 712 cents for the 52 weeks to June 30, its results showed yesterday.
Group trading profit increased by 12.4% to R13.4bn, Diluted headline earnings per share increased by 7.4% to 1 245.2 cent. Excluding the impact of hyperinflation in other African countries, group sale of merchandise increased 12% to R240.8bn.
“Our 12% increase in group sales equates to our core South African supermarkets customers spending R21.4bn more with us this year. During a time when customers are incredibly pressured, this is the greatest reward for our efforts … growth of this nature, in a highly competitive market and from a high base, can only be achieved as a result of across-the-board commitment,” CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said.
He said Shoprite and Usave, which met the needs of the group’s core customer base in the price sensitive market, increased sales by 10.7% from a base of R90bn last year. This equated to an additional spend of R9.6bn in stores this year. Individually Shoprite increased sales by 10.3% and Usave, the limited assortment discount supermarket, by 13.2%
Checkers and Checkers Hyper’s sales grew by 12.3% through a busy year of 26 new stores and 12 store upgrades. Advances in fresh and private label development, with execution from Checkers Sixty60, all reflect the brand’s commitment to its 12 million Xtra Savings rewards customers, said Engelbrecht.
He said that as a result of the brand segmentation strategy, Shoprite and Usave met the needs of their customers in different ways, but a shared operational structure facilitated “best in-class” execution to meet the demands required at differing peak times for each.
Usave experienced the lowest sell inflation of all the group grocery businesses – 2.3% selling price inflation at its lowest in May 2024 – and its customer being the most stretched, Usave increased sales ahead of their other top performing grocery businesses, which all grew ahead of the market, he said.
“After June year-end an agreement was signed to dispose of the furniture business including the OK Furniture and House & Home brands, excluding Angola and Mozambique operations, to Pepkor Holdings. Secondly, with regards to our vision to be Africa’s most profitable omnichannel retailer, the group is in advanced discussions to purchase the remaining 50% shareholding in its last-mile logistics provider, Pingo Delivery.”
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