Clothing retailer Mr Price Group posted a 21% rise in full-year earnings, boosted by its MRP Apparel, Miladys and MRP Money divisions, in its latest results presentation
Clothing retailer Mr Price Group posted a 21% rise in full-year earnings, boosted by its MRP Apparel, Miladys and MRP Money divisions, in its latest results presentation.
Mr Price reported an increase in diluted headline earnings per share for the year to end March of 21.1 percent to 1075.4 cents a share. Total revenue increased by 8percent to R21.3bn, with retail sales increasing by 7.6 percent, and comparable stores increasing by 5.6 percent to R20bn.
Cash sales grew by 8.4 percent, and the group said this constituted 83.7 percent of total sales, while credit sales increased by 4.1 percent.
The retailer is planning to use a war chest of R550 million in cash reserves to push an acquisition and expansion drive in 2019. This will include opening 48 stores and the acquisition of 12 Kenyan franchise stores, to go with the 57 new stores in the year to end March and 1 258 corporate-owned stores at year-end.
CEO Stuart Bird said: “This was a solid performance by a dedicated and talented team, who refocused and delivered after the under-performance of the previous year.”
Bird said the group remained cautiously optimistic about its future and the resilience of its business model in challenging times.
“In our major market, South Africa, there is renewed hope of more robust economic growth. However, many structural challenges remain that will not be fixed overnight. Although the vastly improved business and consumer confidence is welcoming, we believe that the consumers’ ability to spend is still restricted,” he said.
Mr Price Group Limited is an omni-channel, fashion value retailer. The Group retails apparel, homeware and sportsware through owned and franchised stores and online channels in Africa and Australia.
Mr Price CFO Mark Blair took over from the long-serving Chris Yuill, who had held the position for the past 27 years, in 2007. Blair joined Mr Price in 2006 as an Executive Director of Special Projects.
