How much you would have if you invested R1,000 in Woolworths, Pick n Pay, Shoprite and SPAR one year ago

 ·19 Jan 2025

Pick n Pay has been the best-performing share over the last year when it comes to South Africa’s four biggest retailers, while Woolworths has seen its share price drop.

Pick n Pay’s share price has risen by close to 67.69% over the last year, leading to R1,000 invested one year ago becoming R1,678.90.

The group was previously in a difficult position, with it recording a R3 billion loss for the 2022/23 financial year, being technically insolvent and in breach of its debt covenants.

Following a substantial decline in its share price, Pick n Pay has started its turnaround plan.

In 2024, the group raised R4 billion from a rights offer as per its two-step latest recapitalisation plan.

The second part of the plan saw the group list Boxer on the JSE, which raised R8 billion for the group.

These funds have strengthened Pick n Pay’s balance sheet, with the group hoping to help its core South African grocery business.

In second place is Spar, which saw its share price rise by 25.86% over the last year.

In its most recent financial results for the year ended September 2024, SPAR said that its profit after tax was up to R1.65 billion from R1.36 billion, excluding discounted operations. However, it did drop to R352 million when considering discontinued operations.

The group said that it was recovering from a R1.6 billion loss from its botched integration of a SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) system at its KZN distribution centre.

It has been given a boost by the planned disposal of its venture in Poland, which performed poorly.

In third place is South Africa’s largest retailer, Shoprite, which saw its total revenue reach close to R250 billion in its most recent financial year.

The group’s supermarket operations recorded an additional R21.4 billion in sales compared to the prior year.

Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said when he joined Shoprite in 1997, it took 19 years to earn R10 billion in revenue.

Now, the group earns R10 billion in revenue every 15 days.

A large part of the group’s success has been its adaptability to quickly meet market demands, such as its Checkers Sixty60 Delivery Service.

In last place is Woolworths, which has seen its share price drop by 10.54%.

In a November trading update, Woolworths said that its food business continued to show strong turnover and concession sales growth of 12.1% and 7.3% on a comparable-store basis, respectively.

That said, Fashion, Beauty and Household (FBH) turnover and concession sales only increased by 3.5% and by 2.8% on a comparable-store basis, respectively.

The group also noted that the trading conditions in Australia and New Zealand continued to be more challenging than anticipated, with the retail sector facing further declines in footfall, intense promotional activity, and the shift of spend towards value brands.

Country Road Group sales dropped by 8.8% for the period and 13.8% on a comparable-store basis.

Woolworths CEO Roy Bagattini said that the group is pushing hard into its beauty division, which has seen an unrivalled 20% growth per year, with the trend expected to continue.

The performance of the retailers’ share prices can be found below:

StockShare Price over the last yearR1,000 today
Pick n Pay67.69%R1,678.90
SPAR25.86%R1,258.60
Shoprite12.83%R1,128.30
Woolworths-10.54%R894.60
Prices sourced on Friday, 17 January 2025

Read: The plan to triple South Africa’s economic growth

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