Shoprite sales are on the rise by 4.7% to R83.4bn

RETAIL giant Shoprite increased its sales by 4.7 percent to R83.4 billion during the six months to December, despite the closure of its liquor business during the Covid-19 lockdowns, it said yesterday.

Basic headline earnings per share were up 10.7 percent to 419.6 cents compared with the same period in 2019. The board declared an interim dividend of 191c versus 156c in 2019, out of income reserves.

The company, which has more than 500 stores serving more than 20 million shoppers throughout Africa, remained vigilant in combating the challenges faced across the continent, but currency devaluations eroded much of its efforts, chief executive Pieter Engelbrecht said.

“We closed the last of our Kenyan stores in February 2021 and are at the approval stage in terms of the sale of our Nigeria supermarket operation,” he said in comments accompanying the half-year results. “From here, our capital allocated to the region remains at a minimum, and we continue to manage costs as best as we can.”

Shoprite’s core Supermarkets RSA segment, which represents78 percent of group sales, increased sales by 5.6 percent during the period. Adjusting for the closure of its RSA LiquorShop business as a result of coronavirus-related restrictions, the business grew sales by 7.8 percent.

“This is an incredible result given that our customer base spans the entire South African food retail spectrum,” said Engelbrecht.

He said the Supermarkets RSA business had achieved 22 months of uninterrupted market share gains, and in the six months to December the group created 4 305 jobs.

However, in significantly more adverse conditions, Shoprite’s nonSouth Africa continuing operations achieved constant currency sales growth of only 0.9 percent.

“It remained a difficult period in the context of Covid-19 which continued to weigh on our customers, our people and our operations,” Engelbrecht said.