Dis-Chem sees double-digit earnings and dividend growth

Loading player...
GUEST - Rui Morais, CEO of Dis-Chem
South African pharmacy group Dis-Chem reported a 16.3% jump in headline earnings for the six months ended 31 August 2024, it announced on Sens on Friday.
Dis-Chem also posted a 16.1% surge in its dividend per share, which amounts to 26.98 cents, compared to 23.2 cents in the corresponding period in 2023.
The group’s share price traded over 2% lower on Friday morning, at around R36.35 a share.
Dis-Chem attributes the strong earnings growth largely to the containment of group payroll costs, predominantly driven by the successful deployment of its ‘staffing framework 1.0’-strategy. Staffing framework 1.0 focuses on achieving the optimal mix of staff to ensure efficient operations at store level.
In the period under review, Dis-Chem’s like-for-like retail employee costs increased by just 0.7%, but wholesale expenses jumped 13.2% – mainly as a result of the acquisition of the Longmeadow warehouse in Gauteng.
For the half-year, Dis-Chem saw its revenue rise by 9.6% to R19.6 billion, while operating profit surged 17.5%.
Six new retail pharmacy stores were opened, resulting in 274 retail pharmacy stores and 53 retail baby stores as at 31 August 2024, it noted.
28 Oct 2024 2PM English South Africa Business News · Investing

Other recent episodes

Surge in Fake Traffic Fine SMSes Prompts Warning from Fines SA.

GUEST: Barry Berman, CEO of Fines SA A growing wave of fake traffic fine SMSes is leaving South African motorists anxious, out of pocket, and still liable for legitimate fines. Barry Berman, CEO of Fines SA, unpacks the latest scam tactics being used by fraudsters who send urgent-looking messages claiming…
18 Dec 3PM 9 min

Crypto in 2025: The Year in Review.

GUEST: Christo de Wit, Country Manager at Luno As 2025 draws to a close, the cryptocurrency industry is no longer asking whether it belongs in mainstream finance, but how deeply it is already embedded. This year marked a decisive shift as digital assets moved from the fringes into the financial…
18 Dec 3PM 9 min

EKASINOMICS - How WASAA Is Reshaping South Africa’s Petrochemicals Sector

GUEST: Nokwanele Qonde – Founder & Managing Director, WASAA Group From LPG and logistics to chemicals, commodities and large-scale infrastructure, WASAA is quietly building one of South Africa’s most compelling black industrial success stories. In this conversation we unpack how a black-women owned petrochemicals company is driving growth through diversification…
17 Dec 2PM 26 min

Inflation Eases, But the Grocery Bill Tells a Different Story

GUEST: Johann Els – Old Mutual Group Chief Economist. South Africa’s inflation story is showing signs of relief but it’s not all good news for households. Headline consumer inflation slowed to 3.5% in November, its lowest reading in months, helped by falling fuel prices and a sharp drop in used…
17 Dec 2PM 27 min