Pick n Pay plans to enter Nigeria as profits rise

Johannesburg - Pick n Pay Stores announced plans to enter Nigeria as it posted a 26% increase in full-year profit after opening 175 new stores.

The company, based in Cape Town, said it agreed to partner with Lagos-based AG Leventis to enter Africa’s largest economy.

“A key part of the group’s strategy is to establish a second engine of growth in markets in the rest of Africa,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Pick n Pay will hold 51% of the operation in Nigeria, “which will roll out a combination of large and smaller formats to meet consumer needs”.

South African retailers are facing headwinds including weak domestic consumer confidence, rising interest rates and a weak rand, which has declined 16% against the dollar over the past 12 months.

The central bank forecasts economic growth for South Africa this year of 0.8%, which would be the slowest pace since a 2009 recession.

Earnings per share excluding one-time items rose to R2.24 in the year through February, Pick n Pay said. The median estimate of seven analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for adjusted earnings per share of R2.18.

The company restricted selling-price inflation to 3.1% over the year amid “an increasingly challenging economic environment” facing South African consumers, it said.

Sales advanced 8.2% to R72.4bn and the trading-profit margin improved to 2.1%, from 1.9% in 2015.