Diversified digital consumer services group HomeChoice International on Tuesday reported a 27.3% jump in earnings for the year to end-December as it added fintech customers and rapidly expanded its digital footprint.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS) rose to 393.9c from 309.3c in 2023, bolstered by double-digit growth across the group’s fintech and retail businesses.
The group declared a final dividend of 97c a share, up 17% from the previous corresponding period.
Revenue increased 20.6% to R4.4bn, while profit rose 25.7% to R411m.
The fintech division, Weaver Fintech, reported a 33.8% increase in revenue to R2.5bn as HomeChoice continued to deepen its reach into SA’s urban female market, and now serves more than 3.1-million customers. Retail sales were up 8.3% to R1.3bn, boosted by an expansion of showrooms.
“Our strategy is delivering robust growth across the group in our operations and results. With more than 2.7-million fintech customers and a rapidly expanding digital footprint, we are well placed for further profitable growth through new customer acquisition and increased engagement opportunities, while transforming how South Africans engage with financial solutions,” the group said in a statement accompanying the financial results.
“The expansion of our retail showroom footprint offers customers a unique shopping experience while driving significant growth and an opportunity to accelerate.”
Trading in the two months to end-February was strong, in line with management expectations, it added.
Speaking to Business Day after the release of the results, Weaver Fintech and HomeChoice CEO Sean Wibberley said the performance was “very sustainable”, citing the group’s track record of averaging more than 30% revenue and profit growth over the past five years.
“We still have a small market share in unsecured lending, at 6.5%. We are the biggest buy now, pay later provider, and we continue to book over 100,000 new customers a month into that product,” Wibberley said.
“We recently launched an extension to buy now, pay later, known as Pay Stretch, which allows customers to pay at the till over 12 months, making the purchases at the till more affordable. We launched that very successfully in the fourth quarter of 2024 and expect this to be a big growth vector for us as we grow into retail credit in SA.”
The growth came even as consumers continue to face financial pressure. Still, a possible increase in VAT by the National Treasury, high unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis raise questions whether the group’s core customer base, predominantly women, can continue to sustain this level of credit-fuelled consumption.
Wibberley acknowledged these risks but said the group remained agile and responsive to customer behaviour.
HomeChoice retail is betting heavily on smaller showrooms to capture more physical customers. Wibberley said the group had already opened 37 of them and expanded its footprint by 50% in 2024. These showrooms generally cover 250m2 — significantly smaller than traditional outlets — but are delivering four times the average trading density. The smaller format made them more nimble and scalable.
“We want to grow to 100 showrooms in the coming years, and customers are enjoying the experience of touching and feeling the products. Interestingly, customers who come into our showrooms show a better credit performance, which is very encouraging,” he said.
However, Wibberley acknowledged that managing such fast-paced growth was not without its challenges. He said in the Finchoice personal loans business a new collections dialler system was created but had encountered teething problems.
“When you grow at the rate we have you’re bound to have growing pains. We just have to make sure we’re investing ahead of the technology curve. Again, it’s a nice problem to have, but it’s one that my team and I are very focused on,” he said.
The key lesson, according to Wibberley, was the need to invest ahead of expected growth, particularly in technology and talent, to avoid being caught off guard.
Update: March 11 2025
This story now contains comment from the CEO throughout.
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