South Africa's Clicks Posts 11.5% Rise in Full Year Earnings

South African pharmacy chain Clicks Group (CLSJ.J) reported a rise of 11.5% in full-year earnings on Thursday, boosted by improving margins and strong cash flow generation.

Clicks said its adjusted diluted headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year ended Aug. 31 totalled 1,044.5 cents, up from 936.6 cents a year earlier.

The group said it adjusted some financial information for the prior period to reflect the impact of civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal in 2021 and related insurance recoveries, to give a normalised view of its performance.

Including insurance proceeds, diluted HEPS grew by 1.1%, Clicks said.

"Clicks delivered stronger second-half turnover growth and recorded market share gains in all core product categories in an environment of growing pressure on consumer disposable income," the pharmacy group said.

Excluding COVID-19 vaccinations, group turnover grew 8.2% to 41.6 billion rand ($2.16 billion) and was up 5.1% including the jabs.

Retail turnover grew by 12.2%, with strong growth in private label sales and a sustained recovery in the beauty category supported by the group's loyalty programme, which has grown to 10.4 million active members.

Distribution turnover rose by 1.5% as its bulk and wholesale division was affected by lost sales opportunities to Clicks and private hospitals and lower demand from independent pharmacies.

($1=19.2580 rand)

This article originally appeared on Reuters

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