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Johannesburg - SA's biggest listed clothes retailer Mr Price [JSE:MRP] reported a 16.6% rise in half-year profit as cash-strapped consumers flocked to its no-frills stores.
Mr Price, which runs discount stores, said diluted headline earnings totalled 406.8 cents per share in the six months to the end of September compared to 349c a year earlier.
Official data
Headline EPS, a widely watched measure of profit in South Africa, strips out certain one off items.
Shares in the Durban-based company rose 3.51% to R206.50, outpacing 1% fall in the JSE All-share index.
Sales rose 8.6% to R8.5bn.
South Africa's retail sales grew 2.7% year-on-year in September, well below a 4.1% estimate in a Reuters poll, official data showed on Wednesday.
"The economy is not in good shape and consumer confidence is understandably low, but our resilient fashion value model is built to withstand these conditions," said company chief executive Stuart Bird.
Nearest rivals
Retailers in South Africa have been squeezed in recent years as consumers battle with high personal debt, rising fuel and electricity prices and high unemployment.
But Mr Price, whose market value has shot past its nearest rivals Foschini Group and Truworths last year, has fared better because of its low-cost products.
