DURBAN - Health and beauty retailer Clicks Group’s share price declined by 4.05percent yesterday, despite reporting a 9.9percent increase in turnover to R12.9billion for the 20 weeks to January 12.
The share closed at R254.76 on the JSE yesterday.
It has traded positively in the past six months, up by 21.17percent from R211.17 on July 23.
In a trading update, Clicks Pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution business, UPD, showed a strong growth of 13.1percent in turnover, while total managed turnover, which combines wholesale turnover and turnover managed on behalf of bulk distribution clients, increased by 10.2percent.
The group said UPD had traded well during the period and the business had benefited from gaining new wholesale and distribution contracts.
Chief executive Vikesh Ramsunder said the robust trading performance in the weak consumer economy again demonstrated the resilience of the Clicks brand and the defensive nature of the health and beauty markets in which the group trades.
“Our wide range of gifting and value offering, supported by the convenience of the Clicks chain’s extensive retail and pharmacy footprint, ensured that we maintained our robust sales momentum of recent years and sustained volume growth,” he said.
Retail health and beauty sales, which includes Clicks and the franchise brands of The Body Shop, GNC and Claire’s, increased by 9percent and comparable store sales increased by 5.4percent with real volume growth of 3percent.
The group’s total retail sales increased by 7.9percent and by 4.7percent in comparable stores, with selling price inflation of 2.6percent.
Ramsunder said this was achieved despite the increasing pressures on consumer disposable income, negative sentiment and the serious impact of electricity load shedding on retail trading hours and shoppers in general in the past two months.
Clicks had a good run in the year to end August, reporting a 16.8percent increase in diluted headline earnings per share to 672cents a share, while turnover inched up by 7.2percent to R31.4bn. The group also returned an amount of R1.2bn to its shareholders in the form of dividends during the year.