The Shoprite Group’s internal selling price inflation at 3% for July 2024 at its supermarkets fell to 2.6% during August and September. Picture: Supplied.
Shoprite Holdings’ share price increased up to 4.2% on the JSE yesterday after it reported increased sales by 10.4% in its first quarter to end-September 2023, over the same time last year.
The sales increase is strong considering sales rose by 12% in the group's 2024 financial year to end end-June to R240.7 billion, driven by their core South African supermarkets segment, while yesterday, Shoprite's nearest rival Pick n Pay reported only a 3.7% increase in turnover in the 26 weeks to the end of August.
The share price was trading at R303.13 yesterday afternoon on the JSE, which represented a 25% increase over 12 months and 61% increase over three years.
In an operational update, the group said that 68 stores were opened during the first quarter. The majority of these, 53 stores, were opened in the core South African supermarkets segment around which the group-wide ecosystem strategy was built.
The Supermarkets RSA segment increased sales by 11.4%, the Supermarkets Non-RSA by 3.2%, furniture by 7.6%, while other operating segments increased sales by 10.2%.
Supermarkets RSA, represented mainly by the group's food retail operations Shoprite, Usave, Checkers, Checkers Hyper and LiquorShop, measured internal selling price inflation at 3% for July 2024, and the figure fell to 2.6% during August and September, the group said in a statement.
Supermarkets RSA opened 56 stores (closed 3 stores): nine Checkers, two Shoprite, nine Usave, 20 LiquorShop, 13 Petshop Science, one UNIQ clothing by Checkers and two Checkers Outdoor.
In the Supermarkets Non-RSA segment, trading from nine countries outside of South Africa resulted in increased first quarter merchandise sales of 19.7% in constant currency, and by 3.2% (prior period first quarter: 9.7%) in rand terms.
Supermarkets Non-RSA opened four new stores: one Checkers, two Shoprite and one LiquorShop.
The Furniture segment sales increased by 7.6% during the first quarter (0.5%). Credit sales participation measured 14.3% of sales (15.3%). The segment's store base increased by one store to end the period with 431 stores.
The Other operating segment included sales to the group's OK Franchise division increasing by 13.6% (22%). OK Franchise opened a net seven new stores, ending the first quarter with 615 stores.
On the recently announced plan to sell the majority of the furniture business to Pepkor Holdings, the group said this transaction was progressing with the timeline to completion closer to the June 2025 financial year end.
The share buy-back programme was re-established during the quarter, and for the 2025 financial year to date, shares to the value of R997 million had been purchased at an average price of R289.29 each.
Since the inception of the share buy-back programme in the 2021 financial year, 12.1 million shares to the value of R2.6 billion had been repurchased.
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