Accounting for the one-off costs related to the restructuring of Country Road’s operating model in the prior period, as well as unrealised foreign exchange losses in the current period, the group’s adjusted headline earnings are in the range of -2.0% to 3.0%, or 165.7 to 174.2 cents per share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This reflects a turn for the group, following reporting declines in Headline EPS and adjusted diluted Headline EPS of 23.9% and 19.2%, respectively, in FY25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group’s overall performance was relatively strong, with group turnover and concession sales above inflation at 5.4% and 6.1%, respectively, on a constant currency basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group saw positive sales growth across all segments of its business, despite a constrained macroeconomic environment in both South Africa and Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Woolworths South Africa also delivered above-market turnover and concession sales growth of 6.8% for the period despite weak consumer confidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The group’s Food business continued to show substantial turnover and concession sales growth of 7.0% and 5.2% on a comparable-store basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Food business saw consistent month-on-month market share gains and positive underlying volume growth, supported by continued focus and investment in the premium food offering and overall customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Revenue from Woolies Dash grew by 23.0%, with the online channel now contributing 7.2% to SA Food sales. Net trading space also increased by 4.3% (weighted basis: 1.8%) on the prior period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It said that the expansion of its Midrand distribution centre is well progressed, even though it has hit the group’s gross profit margin due to heightened depreciation from the massive investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fashion, Beauty and Home (FBH) turnover and concession sales also increased by 6.2% and 6.4% on a comparable-store basis, supported by improved product availability due to better value chain initiatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The momentum was maintained over Black Friday and the festive season, with sales growth of 6.1% in the last seven weeks of the period, with strong market share gains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Price movement over the period averaged 2.8%, with Fashion inflation at 1.3%, driven by the clearance of excess inventory and price investments in Kidswear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This had a significant impact on GP Margin for the Fashion business. The group’s Beauty and Home businesses delivered stronger growth of 8.9% and 14.0%, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ongoing initiative to optimise space and efficiency metrics resulted in a net decrease in trading space of 1.9% relative to the prior period, while online sales contributed 6.2% to FBH sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Woolworths Financial Services book increased by 1.8% on a year-on-year basis to the end of December 2025, and increased by 2.6% when excluding the sale of part of the legal book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “This was driven through disciplined focus on quality growth through both new accounts as well as credit limit increases on existing accounts,” said Woolworths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The annualised impairment rate for the six months ended 31 December 2025 was 6.4% and remains sector leading.”<\/p>\n\n\n\nMetric<\/th> 26 weeks to 29 December 2024 (reported, cents)<\/th> 26 weeks to 28 December 2025 (expected range, %)<\/th> 26 weeks to 28 December 2025 (expected range, cents)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> EPS<\/td> 245.4<\/td> -35.0%<\/mark> to -30.0%<\/mark><\/td> 159.5 to 171.8<\/td><\/tr> HEPS<\/td> 152.8<\/td> 7.0%<\/mark> to 12.0%<\/mark><\/td> 163.5 to 171.1<\/td><\/tr> adHEPS<\/td> 169.1<\/td> -2.0%<\/mark> to 3.0%<\/mark><\/td> 165.7 to 174.2<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Country Road Group<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/country-road-e1741156176916.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n