Foschini boosts H1 profit, outlook positive

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's third-biggest listed clothing retailer Foschini Group reported a 19 percent rise in first-half profit due to a boost in consumer spending coming from above-average wage hikes and historic-low borrowing costs.

Foschini, which runs 14 retail brands, said on Thursday diluted headline earnings per share totalled 396.1 cents in the six months to end-September compared with 333.3 cents a year earlier.

Headline EPS, the main profit measure in South Africa, excludes certain one-time items.

"For the first five weeks of the second half, retail turnover has continued at similar levels to the first half," the Cape Town-based company said.

It also said sales increased 12.6 percent to 6.1 billion rand, helped in part by new stores and price increases. Same store sales grew 6.6 percent.

Although consumer spending is improving, analysts have warned that share prices for retailers may be over-valued, given what they can deliver.

Shares in the company, which have gained more than 20 percent so far this year, were up 2.13 percent at 129.71 rand by 1241 GMT, outperforming a 0.26 percent gain in the All-share index.

The share price rally this year, which mirrors similar or more gains for domestic retailers, has also been fuelled by expectations of healthy returns from Foschini's expansion into the rest of Africa.

The company runs 98 stores outside its home market in countries including Botswana, Nigeria and Zambia. It plans to open a further 56 stores in countries where it already operates as well as enter Mozambique and Ghana in the next two years.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/foschini-boosts-h1-profit-outlook-positive-132856144--finance.html

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