JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay swung on Wednesday to a half-year loss of 571.3 million rand ($30.48 million), hit by incremental costs, and said it would not pay out a dividend.
The retailer, which also sells clothes, said it swung to a loss after tax in the 26 weeks ended Aug.27, from a profit of 453.3 million rand last year in the same period. Its pro forma loss, which excludes certain items, came in at 837.2 million rand.
Pro forma headline earnings per share tumbled by 245.7% to a headline loss of 129.30 cents. Owing to this loss in earnings it did not declare a dividend.
“The group delivered a disappointing result in a period heavily impacted by load shedding and increased competitive intensity,” Pick n Pay said in a statement.
The 396 million rand spent on diesel to run generators and keep stores open during power cuts not only affected expense growth, but also constrained Pick n Pay’s ability to respond to increased promotional activity in the market, it added.
Overall incremental costs, which include diesel and restructuring costs, came to 565 million rand.
Group turnover rose by 5.4%, with a strong contribution by its discount Boxer stores, which grew sales by 16.1%.
($1=18.7431 rand)
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
