Truworths: Profit forecast hurts share price

Shares of Truworths tumbled more than 7 percent yesterday after the retailer warned profit growth would miss expectations, as debt-laden customers slowed their spending. Truworths said its headline earnings for the 52 weeks to June 30 probably rose by between 7 percent and 9 percent compared with the 53-week prior period, well below the average estimate of 15 percent in a poll of eight analysts by Thomson Reuters. Excluding the effect of the additional trading week in 2012, profit would have grown 10 percent to 13 percent, it said. Shares of the fashion chain slid 7.08 percent at close at R80 on the JSE yesterday, their biggest one-day decline since at least May. Truworths, which relies on credit for nearly three-quarters of its sales, said the credit environment had “deteriorated” during the year. The group said retail sales increased by 10.7 percent year on year (12.9 percent for the comparable 52-week period) to R10.1 billion while product inflation averaged 2 percent. – Reuters