Shoprite said this week that its shares will be traded on the A2X stock exchange from April 11, 2023.
Its listing would be retained on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX), and Lusaka Securities Exchange (LUSE), and its issued share capital will be unaffected by the secondary listing on A2X, the group said in a statement.
Shoprite’s core business is food retailing, furniture, digital commerce, pharmaceutical, ticketing, hospitality, as well as financial and cellular services.
A2X is a licensed stock exchange authorised to provide a secondary trading venue for companies. The Shoprite listing will bring the number of instruments listed on A2X to 112, with a combined market capitalisation of around R6.7 trillion.
“Shoprite’s listing on A2X highlights an important milestone for A2X as more than half of all top 40 constituents will now have a secondary listing on the exchange,” the A2X exchange said in a statement.
Shoprite joins other Top 40 companies including Absa, Aspen, Discovery, Investec, Mr Price Group, Naspers, Nedbank Group, Prosus, Sasol, Standard Bank, and Woolworths that are also listed on the exchange.
A2X CEO Kevin Brady said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Africa’s largest retailer to our platform next week. As demonstrated by its most recent financial results, Shoprite is an exceptional company that has delivered ongoing growth even in a difficult operating environment. Shoprite joins a growing list of companies that are recognising the value of a secondary listing on A2X and the resultant benefits for investors.”
In an operational update for the six months ended January 1, 2023, the group said its supermarket division achieved sales growth of 17.5%. On a like-for-like basis, Shoprite’s sales increased by more than 11%. This segment, which accounts for just more than 80% of group sales, was also able to raise selling prices by 9.4%.
Shoprite posted a total sale of merchandise increase of 16.8% to about R106.3 billion.
The group announced last week that it would enter the more than R100 billion a year South African apparel retail market, aiming its new Uniq clothing chain for the women’s, men’s, and children’s wear sectors with medium to high-end pricing ranges.
BUSINESS REPORT