Unaudited results for the 26 weeks ended 2 January 2022
Key information – continuing operations
- Sale of merchandise increased by 10.0% to R91.1 billion
- Diluted headline earnings per share (DHEPS) increased by 25.2% to 519.3 cents (restated* H1 2021: 414.8 cents)
- Adjusted DHEPS** increased by 32.5% to 536.3 cents (restated* H1 2021: 404.8 cents)
- The interim dividend per share declared increased by 22.0% to 233 cents (H1 2021: 191 cents)
- Excluding the impact of civil unrest closures and reopenings, our core Supermarkets RSA operating segment opened a net of 62 stores during the six months creating 1 949 new jobs
* Restated for the classification of the Group’s Kenyan, Ugandan and Madagascan operations as discontinued operations in accordance with IFRS 5: Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations.
** The adjusted DHEPS constitutes pro forma financial information in terms of JSE Limited Listings Requirements, is the responsibility of the Board of Directors of the Company, has been prepared for illustrative purposes only and may not fairly present the Group’s financial position.
Pieter Engelbrecht, Chief Executive Officer
The extraordinary growth in sales and profits reported by the Group for the first half of our 2022 year is testament to the capable people of Shoprite, united in their commitment to the Group’s millions of customers throughout South Africa and Africa. The execution strength demonstrated throughout our supermarket, furniture and franchise businesses during what can only be described as some of the most difficult times South Africa has seen for many years was unsurpassed. Similarly, our supermarket business outside South Africa has sustained its profitability. All credit to our teams who operate in these regions which, in their own right, can be extremely challenging.
The Group’s core South African supermarket business, representing 79.5% of Group sales, increased sales by 11.3%. Despite having two of our large format Checkers Hypers still closed due to the July 2021 civil unrest, all of our supermarket brands grew sales ahead of the market. Shoprite and Usave, which together make up 52.5% of our Supermarkets RSA operating segment increased sales by 7.3%. Checkers and Checkers Hyper, which make up 40.0% of Supermarkets RSA sale of merchandise, increased sales by 11.4%. After being closed for much of last year due to lockdown regulations our Shoprite and Checkers LiquorShop business, which constitutes 7.4% of the segment’s sales, increased by 49.8%.
The continued momentum and customer support demonstrated by all our supermarket brands is particularly gratifying given our relentless focus on affordability. Our low-price promise continues to guide our daily decision making, evidenced by our 2.6% selling price inflation for the Supermarkets RSA segment for the six months. In addition to this, our 23.1 million customers who have joined the Shoprite and Checkers Xtra Savings rewards programme have saved R4.5 billion during this six-month period alone.
In terms of accessibility, our continual drive to alleviate the time and cost pressures for our customers remains a top priority and continues to guide our various businesses in different ways whether it be growing our reach of community based Usave stores or building on our very successful on-demand grocery delivery solution Checkers Sixty60. It is very pleasing to see the meaningful difference our initiatives have made to our customers during these particularly challenging times, as reflected in the 12.1% sales growth reported by our Usave stores.
We’ve continued to strengthen our core supermarket business by opening new stores, updating existing stores, introducing new products and bringing new trading formats to the market. We’ve also evolved our fintech business and ShopriteX, the Group’s tech and innovation hub, which has continued to raise the bar with numerous initiatives including, but not limited to, the agreement entered into with our partner RTT Group (Pty) Ltd to establish a new company for their on-demand business.
Delivering a 25.5% HEPS growth from continuing operations in such a difficult environment is a result of world-class execution of a clear plan, underscored by our daily obsession with affordability for our customers. It is a goal that keeps us grounded, aligned and motivated as we move forward to better the lives of customers and we look forward to building on this in the years to come.