Clicks has reported a 13.2% rise in interim diluted headline earnings per share (HEPS), thanks to better sales of its private-label products and higher profits from its distribution business.
A dividend of 118c has been declared, which reflects growth of 15%.
Discussing the outlook for the remainder of the 2019 financial year, Clicks CEO Vikesh Ramsunder commented that macro-economic conditions were not likely to improve in the short to medium term, and so the group was “expecting the trading environment to remain challenging in the second half”.
“The core health and beauty markets in which we trade, as well as our business model, have proven to be resilient,” he said. “In this difficult environment, Clicks plans to take advantage of opportunities to accelerate its store expansion programme by opening 41 new stores in the financial year, well ahead of the targeted 25 to 30 stores.”
Ramsunder added that Clicks and UPD, the group’s pharmaceutical distributor, were both well positioned for sustained growth and because of that, Clicks was forecasting an increase in diluted annual HEPS of between 10% and 15%.
Ramsunder joined Business Day TV to talk about the numbers and whether they could be replicated in the second half, which is expected to remain constrained.
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