Solid Top-Line Growth
Group sales grew 7.2% year-on-year to almost ZAR 137 billion for H1, adding ZAR 9.2 billion in sales over the prior period; like-for-like sales growth was 2.7%.
Strong Trading Profit and Margins
Trading profit increased 5.9% to ZAR 7.7 billion and the Group trading margin was 5.7% for H1; RSA Supermarkets achieved an industry-leading trading margin of 6.2%.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin Resilience
Gross profit rose 7.1%, with overall gross margin for the six months reported at 23.8%; RSA Supermarkets gross margin was 25.3%.
Improved Capital Returns and Shareholder Returns
Adjusted ROIC improved from 17% to over 19%; diluted headline earnings per share from continued operations grew ~7.9% and the dividend was increased 7.7% to ZAR 3.07 per share.
Strong Cash Generation & Working Capital
Cash generated from core operations was ZAR 13.3 billion for H1; a positive working capital movement of ZAR 5.4 billion (ZAR 4.3 billion related to cut-off creditor payments) and inventory-to-sales in stores remained below 9%.
Successful Store Expansion and Space Growth
Opened 273 new stores in the last 12 months (262 in RSA supermarkets); space growth of 7.3% (above prior guidance) with plans to open ~123 stores in H2 and target full-year space growth returning to ~5.5–6%.
Digital & Omnichannel Momentum (Sixty60)
Sixty60 (instant delivery) grew ~34.6% to around ZAR 11.9 billion turnover; platform has driven rapid development (900+ software releases annually) and contributed materially to omnichannel progress and job creation (c.18,000 jobs since inception, ~10,000 drivers).
Adjacent Businesses and New Channels Performing
Adjacent businesses grew 70.9% to nearly ZAR 1 billion in H1, with Petshop Science performing strongly (45 of 53 new adjacent stores were Petshop); Medirite & Transpharm grew 7.9%.
Market Share Gains and Customer Metrics
Group gained market share for the sixth consecutive year (approx. ZAR 3 billion of additional market share); 572 million customer visits (up >5%), serving 100+ million customers per month and adding c.1.2 million additional customers per week.
Affordable-Price Social Impact Initiatives
Significant consumer value initiatives: ZAR 9.7 billion of instant cash savings at till in H1, 9.5 million items sold at ZAR 1, and 55.6 million items sold at ZAR 5, supporting low-income consumers.