Signs of life for Pick n Pay
Pick n Pay is seeing improvements in several key metrics, as the group chases a return to profitability.
The retailer has faced a challenging couple of years, including its failed Ekuseni strategy, billions in losses, and being technically insolvent.
This led to drastic changes, including the return of former CEO Sean Summers, a R4 billion rights offer and the IPO of one of its best-performing businesses in Boxer.
The group’s latest update for the 26 weeks to 31 August 2025 shows that the shift in strategy has led to several improvements, including steady like-for-like sales for Pick n Pay and another strong performance from Boxer.
Group turnover rose 4.9%, with like-for-like sales up 4.7% against the same period last year.
Like-for-like turnover growth showed improved momentum across all of the group’s supermarket formats in the last two months of the period.
Pick n Pay South Africa’s like-for-like sales for the period grew 4.3%.
“The group views this as a credible performance in the context of a highly constrained consumer and continued subdued food price inflation,” it said.
The group also implemented its planned store closures and conversions, which resulted in overall turnover growth lagging like-for-like sales momentum.
Boxer turnover for the period grew 13.9%, with 5.3% like-for-like sales growth.
Clothing turnover growth in standalone stores for the period was 12.0% (7.5% like-for-like sales).
Clothing momentum moderated in the last two months of the period as the earlier softness in the base normalised.
Online sales growth for the period was 34.4%, driven by the continued growth of Pick n Pay asap! and Pick n Pay groceries on the Mr D app.
The group’s internal selling price inflation for the period was 2.1%, which was in line with the 2.1% reported for FY25, and well below CPI Food of 4.6%.
| Period | Previously published – 17 weeks ended 29 June 2025 (% growth) | Previously published – 17 weeks ended 29 June 2025 (% growth) | 26 weeks ended 31 August 2025 (H1 FY26) (% growth) | 26 weeks ended 31 August 2025 (H1 FY26) (% growth) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Turnover | Like-for-Like sales | Turnover | Like-for-Like sales |
| Pick n Pay (SA & RoA*) | 0.1% | 3.6% | 0.1% | 4.4% |
| Pick n Pay SA | 0.0% | 3.6% | 0.4% | 4.3% |
| Boxer (SA & RoA*) | 12.1% | 3.9% | 13.9% | 5.3% |
| Group turnover | 4.3% | 3.8% | 4.9% | 4.7% |
Financials
While the group is showing signs of life and racking up some successes with its turnaround, it is still expecting to report a loss for the period.
Positively, the expected headline loss should be reduced.
“The expected reduction of the headline loss is driven by a somewhat improved Pick n Pay segment trading result, a strong Boxer trading result, and a large positive swing in net funding interest.”
This was partially offset by the 34.4% Boxer non-controlling interest due to the IPO.
The expected loss per share reduction was also impacted by an increase in the weighted average share count arising from the Rights Offer.
This resulted in the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue (net of treasury shares) increasing by 25% from 587.54 million for H1 FY25 to 734.53 million for H1 FY26.
| Metric | Expected Range of Improvement (% change) | 26 weeks to 31 August 2025 (H1 FY26) – Expected Range | 26 weeks to 25 August 2024 (H1 FY25) – Reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute earnings metrics | |||
| Headline earnings (Rm) | 40% – 50% | -479 to -399 | -803 |
| Per share earnings metrics | |||
| Earnings per share (EPS) | 45% – 55% | -77.39 to -63.31 | -140.83 |
| Diluted EPS | 45% – 55% | -77.38 to -63.31 | -140.67 |
| Headline earnings per share (HEPS) | 50% – 60% | -67.97 to -54.31 | -136.60 |
| Diluted HEPS | 50% – 60% | -67.96 to -54.31 | -136.44 |
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