Dis-Chem sees double-digit earnings and dividend growth

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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

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