Try our mobile app

Unaudited condensed consolidated interim results for the 26 weeks ended 28 August 2022 and interim dividend

Published: 2022-10-18 08:06:09 ET
<<<  go to JSE:PIK company page
Pick n Pay Stores Limited
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
Registration number: 1968/008034/06
ISIN: ZAE000005443
JSE share code: PIK
("Pick n Pay" or "the Group")

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE 26 WEEKS ENDED 28 AUGUST 2022 AND DECLARATION OF INTERIM DIVIDEND

This short-form announcement is the responsibility of the directors and is an abridged summary of the information contained in the Group's full
H1 FY23 interim result announcement.

Any investment decision should be based on the full announcement published on the Group's website at www.picknpayinvestor.co.za and on the JSE
website using the following link https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2022/jse/isse/PIK/FY23H1.pdf.

Copies of the full announcement are available for inspection at, or may also be requested from, the Group's registered office or the office of
our sponsor, at no charge, during office hours. To request a copy of the full announcement, contact our Company Secretary, Penelope Gerber at
CompanySecretary@pnp.co.za.

The information contained in this announcement has neither been audited nor reviewed by the Group's external auditors.

Executing on the Ekuseni strategic plan

                                                       26 weeks to       26 weeks to
                                                    28 August 2022    29 August 2021         %
Key financial indicators                                   H1 FY23           H1 FY22    change
Group turnover                                       R51.3 billion     R46.0 billion     11.5%
Gross profit margin                                          19.4%             18.2%
Trading expenses                                      R9.8 billion      R8.9 billion     10.6%
Pro forma profit before tax1                        R588.0 million    R481.2 million     22.2%
Pro forma profit before tax - South Africa1         R456.1 million    R389.6 million     17.1%
Profit after tax                                    R453.3 million    R296.8 million     52.7%
Basic earnings per share (EPS)                         94.34 cents       61.97 cents     52.2%
Headline earnings per share (HEPS)                     97.73 cents       61.28 cents     59.5%
Pro forma HEPS1                                        88.76 cents       70.85 cents     25.3%
Interim dividend per share                             44.85 cents       35.80 cents     25.3%

1 H1 FY23 pro forma profit before tax (PBT) and pro forma headline earnings per share (HEPS) exclude R145.2 million (R104.5 million net of tax)
  business interruption insurance proceeds received and accounted for in H1 FY23, but previously included in FY22 pro forma earnings. In line
  with normal Group practice, pro forma earnings also exclude all non-cash hyperinflation gains and losses related to the Group's TM business
  in Zimbabwe. Pro forma HEPS is the Group's dividend driver.

RESULT SUMMARY

The Group delivered a positive   performance in its first trading period under the Ekuseni strategic plan. In addition to taking crucial steps
to deliver the plan, the Group   increased its turnover by 11.5% year-on-year. This strong turnover growth in part reflects the normalisation of
the environment after the July   2021 civil unrest and Covid-19 liquor trading restrictions last year which negatively impacted the base. When
excluding these disruptions in   the base, we estimate normalised H1 FY23 turnover rose by an encouraging 8.2%.
While turnover normalised during this period, the Group continued to feel the after-effects of the civil unrest in terms of increased
insurance and related security costs. Additional expense increases arose from broad inflationary pressures and from investment in implementing
our Ekuseni strategic plan. Underlying gross profit margin reflects higher fuel costs, alongside price investment to support our customers.
Despite this, the Group reported pro forma profit before tax of R588.0 million (+22.2% year-on-year).

The Group's H1 focus was execution of the Ekuseni strategic plan, the key elements of which are:

- Rejuvenating our Pick n Pay supermarket format by refining our customer value proposition (CVP) into two differentiated banners, Pick n Pay,
  and Pick n Pay QualiSave (QualiSave);
- Doubling-down on the growth of our high performance but under-penetrated formats, Boxer and Pick n Pay Clothing, via an accelerated store
  rollout programme, and strong like-for-like turnover growth;
- Building a market-leading online business, by launching an on-demand Pick n Pay grocery service on the Mr D app, expanding on our existing
  asap! and scheduled services;
- Improving efficiency by launching Project Future Phase 2, a three-year modernisation and savings programme

The Group is energised and making progress on all elements of the Ekuseni plan. Key milestones achieved so far this year include launching the
QualiSave banner and rolling it out to 93 stores, as well as refurbishing 41 stores to the new Pick n Pay and QualiSave CVPs with strong
initial results. Project Future, our cost-saving and modernisation plan, is helping the Group constrain operating costs and deliver greater
operating efficiency in an increasingly inflationary environment.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PERIDO INCLUDE:

- The 17 May launch of the Ekuseni strategic plan with ambitious medium-term sales and profit growth targets
- Split of Pick n Pay supermarkets into two tailored banners: QualiSave, serving lower-to-middle-income customers, and Pick n Pay, serving
  middle-to-upper-income customers
- Launch of an accelerated store refurbishment programme to clearly differentiate the two banners and improve the customer experience
- Average weekly sales growth of 15% achieved for the 41 stores upgraded to the new CVPs
- Market leading SA sales growth of 27.2% from soft-discounter Boxer, with its sales performance disclosed separately for the first time
- Pick n Pay Clothing continued to gain market share with 14.8% sales growth
- Online sales growth of 82.0%, with future growth to be supported by the recent launch of Pick n Pay groceries on the Mr D app,
  South Africa's leading online food delivery service
- Reaching agreement with our largest labour union, SACCAWU, to introduce multi-skilling, which allows Pick n Pay to schedule employees for
  different jobs within one day, thereby improving productivity and customer service
- R315 million Project Future savings, enabling Pick n Pay South Africa to restrict like-for-like cost growth to a similar level to its 4.5%
  like-for-like sales (and well below 6.0% Group like-for-like cost growth)

The first half of FY23 was an intensive period for the Group. It launched the Ekuseni strategic plan on 17 May 2022, and immediately put
energy into implementing key elements of the plan. The initial results achieved in a short time have been very encouraging. In addition, the
Group has continued to support customers through an increasingly difficult economy, marked by rising inflation, intense load shedding, and
other challenges.

The Group is confident that its reorganisation into three grocery banners - Pick n Pay, QualiSave, and Boxer - is the right strategic
response to market and economic dynamics, with each banner optimised to serve their target customer needs.

While encouraged by the initial progress, the Group recognises that much work remains to be done in its multi-year Ekuseni transformation
plan. The Group made it clear when launching the plan that FY23 would be an investment year, with implementation costs and investment in
getting the right prices for consumers. As a result, meaningful earnings growth (relative to the FY22 pro forma headline earnings base)
should be expected only from FY24. In addition, external headwinds - including inflationary cost pressures, and unprecedented load shedding
- are likely to be challenging in the second half. The Group will work to mitigate these pressures, but cautions that there will inevitably
be an additional impact on the full-year result. Group turnover growth for the first four weeks of H2 FY23 was 8.4%.

We thank all Boxer and Pick n Pay colleagues, and our valued franchise partners, for their commitment and contribution, and for their
dedication to customers and communities. In particular, we thank our colleagues and partners for the energy they are bringing towards
realising the Ekuseni goals.

Gareth Ackerman                                                Pieter Boone
Chairman                                                       Chief Executive Officer
17 October 2022

DIVIDEND DECLARATION

Tax reference number: 9275/141/71/2
Number of ordinary shares in issue: 493 450 321
2023 interim dividend - number 109

Notice is hereby given that the directors have declared an interim gross dividend (number 109) relating to its 2023 interim financial
period (26 weeks ended 28 August 2022) of 44.85 cents per share out of income reserves. The dividend declared is subject to dividend
withholding tax at 20%. The tax payable is 8.97 cents per share, resulting in shareholders who are not exempt from dividends tax with a net
dividend of 35.88 cents per share.

Dividend dates
Last day to trade CUM-dividend                    Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Shares to commence trading EX-dividend            Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Record date                                       Friday, 2 December 2022
Dividend payment date                             Monday, 5 December 2022

Share certificates may not be dematerialised or rematerialised between Wednesday, 30 November 2022 and Friday, 2 December 2022, both dates
inclusive.

On behalf of the Board of directors
Penelope Gerber
Company Secretary
17 October 2022

CHANGES TO THE BOARD AND COMPANY SECRETARY DURING THE PERIOD UNDER REVIEW

Suzanne Ackerman-Berman retired as an executive director on 31 March 2022 and was appointed as a non-executive director from that date.
Independent non-executive director Hugh Herman retired at the AGM on 26 July 2022. Debra Muller retired as Company Secretary on 31 July 2022
and was replaced by Penelope Gerber on that date. Post the interim results period under review, James Formby was appointed as an independent
non-executive director on 10 October 2022.

RESULT WEBCAST

The Group will hold an online results presentation at 9:00am this morning. All interested stakeholders are invited to watch the webcast which
can be accessed using the following link: https://www.corpcam.com/pnp18102022. The slides accompanying the result presentation will be
available on the Pick n Pay Investor Relations website at www.picknpayinvestor.co.za shortly before the commencement of the presentation.
A playback of the webcast will be made available on our website approximately 2 hours after the presentation.
ABOUT PICK N PAY STORES LIMITED

The Pick n Pay Stores Limited Group is a leading South African grocery, clothing, liquor and general merchandise retailer, employing 90 000
people through its owned and franchise operations, across its Pick n Pay, Pick n Pay QualiSave, and Boxer banners. The Group is managed
through its South Africa and Rest of Africa divisions and owns a 49% share of a Zimbabwean supermarket business, TM Supermarkets. For further
information on Pick n Pay and its underlying businesses, please visit www.picknpayinvestor.co.za.

DIRECTORS OF PICK N PAY STORES LIMITED

Executive directors
Pieter Boone (CEO), Lerena Olivier (CFO), Jonathan Ackerman

Non-executive directors
Gareth Ackerman (Chairman), Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, David Robins

Independent non-executive directors
Haroon Bhorat, Mariam Cassim, James Formby, David Friedland, Aboubakar Jakoet, Audrey Mothupi, Annamarie van der Merwe, Jeff van Rooyen

CORPORATE INFORMATION

Registered office
101 Rosmead Avenue, Kenilworth, Cape Town 7708

Company Secretary
Penelope Gerber
Email address: CompanySecretary@pnp.co.za

Investor relations
Stephen Carrott
Email address: stephencarrott@pnp.co.za

Sponsor
Investec Bank Limited

Transfer secretaries
Computershare Investor Services Proprietary Limited

18 October 2022