Shoprite's profit growth lags consensus

Johannesburg - Shoprite Holdings [JSE:SHP] missed estimates with a 3.3% rise in full-year profit on Tuesday as consumers battling high personal debt and rising prices cut spending.

Africa's biggest retailer said diluted headline earnings per share totaled 697.6 cents in the year ended June, well below 729c estimate in Reuters poll of 16 analysts.

Headline EPS, the most widely watched profit gauge in South Africa, strips out certain one-off items.

Shares in the company tumbled more than 4% at R147.89 by 10:00, lagging a slightly higher JSE Top-40 index

Retailers in Africa's most advanced economy are among the worst performing stocks in the past 12 months, reflecting investors' fears about the impact on consumer spending of tepid economic growth, rising fuel prices and high household debt.

Sales increased 10.5% to R102.2bn.