Johannesburg – Shoprite Holdings [JSE:SHP], the largest retailer in Africa, said on Tuesday it plans to open 171 new stores by June 2014, including 47 outside its home market.
Shoprite, which currently operates 153 supermarkets in 16 countries outside of South Africa, made the statement in a document handed out at its full-year earnings news conference.
Earlier on Tuesday the retailer said it missed forecasts with an 11% rise in full-year profit as debt-laden consumers at its core South African market cut down on spending.
The Cape Town-based grocer reported that headline earnings per share (EPS) totalled 675.4 cents in the year to end-June, compared with 607c a year earlier.
Eleven analysts polled by Reuters were expecting the company to deliver headline EPS of 681c. Headline EPS, South Africa’s primary profit gauge, excludes certain one-time items.
Sales rose 12% to R92.7bn.
Shares in Shoprite, which have slumped more than 20% this year, fell 1.2% to R159.66, lagging behind a 0.9% decline in the JSE Top-40 index. From Fin24.com
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