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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African retailer Woolworths Holdings Ltd said on Monday it expected its first-half headline earnings per share (HEPS) to jump 50-60%, boosted by improved business environment in the final six weeks of the period.
The company said HEPS - the main measure of profit in the country - is likely to be between 2.47 rand ($0.1638) and 2.64 cents for the 26 weeks ended Dec. 27, compared with 1.65 rand in the year-ago period.
The company, which has a presence in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, expects group sales to rise 5.3% from the same period a year earlier.
Retailers in South Africa have been one of the hardest hit due to the rising cases of coronavirus. Retail sales in November, usually considered a peak sales month as customers spend heavily before the festive season, fell 4% year on year.
That was worse than a Reuters forecast for a 2.5% drop.
But subdued physical sales have forced retailers to adopt a move online, setting the stage for a massive competition to grab market share through ecommerce.
Woolworths’ focus on online sales, inventory management and some property sales helped counter the tough trading environment and resulted in positive cash flows, it said.
Its online sales in South Africa in the food segment grew by almost 160%, albeit from a lower base, and now contributes over 2% to overall sales of the segment.
Online sales in fashion, beauty and home segments more than doubled and now contribute 4% to overall sales of the segment.
It will release its results on Feb. 25.
($1 = 15.0776 rand)
