Pick n Pay appoints workstreams to limit impact of load-shedding on its coffers

The group warned profit for the 2023 financial year might fall by as much as 18%

Retailer Pick n Pay has constituted workstreams to limit the effects of load-shedding on the group’s earnings.

This is as the group on Monday warned shareholders that its profit for the 2023 financial year might fall by as much as 18%.

The group said headline earnings per share for the year ended February are likely to decrease by between 12% and 18% using a pro forma measure.

The company said power cuts continue to put pressure on its earnings. “The impact of unprecedented load-shedding, particularly diesel expenditure to run generators (previously reported to be R346m for the first 10 months of FY23) has had a significant influence on these results,” it said.

“Despite this, the group has contained the earnings impact through holding underlying gross profit margin constant (in the context of a highly competitive market environment) and tight control of trading expenses.”

The retailer, which in February described the current energy crisis as a “permanent new reality,” said it is doing all it can to safeguard the business from the daily power cuts.

“The group remains focused on the successful execution of its Ekuseni Strategic Plan, which includes workstreams to reduce as much as possible the impact of the current levels of load-shedding.”

The group said in February sales for the first 10 months of the 2023 financial year, covering the 43-week period from February 28 2022 to December 25 2022, increased 9.3%. SA sales growth for this period was 9.0%, with like-for-like sales growth of 4.8%.