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SHOPRITE HOLDINGS LIMITED - TRADING UPDATE AT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
SHOPRITE HOLDINGS LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1936/007721/06)
ISIN no: ZAE 000012084
JSE share code: SHP
NSX share code: SRH
LuSE share code: SHOPRITE
("Shoprite")
TRADING UPDATE AT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The following trading update for the three months ended September 2003 was
presented at the Shoprite Holdings Limited Annual General Meeting which
commenced at 09:15 this morning.
1. Satisfactory trading results, in line with expectations, have been achieved
for the Group. Earnings were further boosted by an improvement in net
finance income resulting from better stock management.
2. As a result of the low food inflation that varied between 3% and 6% over
the same period last year, and the resultant impact of negative food
inflation on basic foodstuffs such as maize, rice and edible oil, turnover
was impacted negatively in our lower LSM stores which sell a high
proportion of these products.
3. Satisfactory results have been achieved in terms of our customer growth,
which for the South African operations increased 6.84% over last year, and
for the non South-African operations increased 2.3%.
4. We are satisfied with our growth in market share on like-for-like stores,
which for the month of September showed growth in all trading divisions
except for one division in both the Checkers and Shoprite formats.
5. The Furniture Division experienced buoyant trading conditions in line with
the industry. However, results for our Franchise Operations reflect the
difficult and competitive market conditions since year-end.
6. During the 3 month period, 3 supermarkets and 5 USave stores were opened in
South Africa, with 1 supermarket and 3 USaves opening outside South Africa.
Our latest new store outside South Africa opened during September in Angola
and is operating very successfully. We have already approved an increase
to the trading area of the store in Luanda.
7. The Group plans to open a further 60 stores to June 2004.
8. We are extremely satisfied with the growth in both turnover and
profitability of the Limited Assortment group USave, which to date has 25
stores with a further 30 planned to June 2004.
9. The Company has been involved in a national strike called by SACCAWU since
Thursday, 23 October 2003. The dispute arose out of the implementation of
the new Sectoral Determination for the retail and wholesale industry which
became effective on 1 February 2003.
The Union is demanding that Shoprite restores a wage premium for part-time
workers and guarantees a fixed number of hours employment per month. This would
totally eliminate the flexibility which lies at the heart of part-time
employment in the industry and which is recognised in the new Sectoral
Determination.
Talks are underway with SACCAWU to resolve the dispute, but it is too early to
determine what impact the strike will have on operations.
In the interim, contingency arrangements have ensured that trading is continuing
with minimum disruption.
Cape Town
28 October 2003
Sponsor:
Nedbank Corporate
Date: 28/10/2003 10:59:05 AM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
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