Clicks Group has lifted profitability at the halfway stage of its financial year, even as consumers remain under pressure. The retailer said turnover for the six months ended February rose 7.4% to R24.9bn. Headline earnings increased 6.4% to R1.5bn.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS) climbed 8.1% to 653 cents. The company said share buybacks over the past 18 months helped support HEPS growth.
Clicks declared an interim dividend of 258 cents per share. That is up 8.4% year on year.
Group trading profit rose 7.4% to R2.3bn. The trading margin held steady at 9.1%. Cash generated by operations came to R1.9bn.
Retail And Pharmacy Growth Holds Up
Retail turnover, including Clicks, UniCare, The Body Shop and Sorbet corporate stores, increased 5.4%. Comparable store turnover was 3.1% higher. Selling price inflation averaged 2.3% over the period.
Pharmacy sales grew 8.6%. Retail pharmacy market share strengthened to 24.9%, from 24.2% in the prior period. For healthcare suppliers and service partners, the market share gain signals continued momentum in pharmacy-led footfall and basket growth.
Loyalty also remained a major lever. Clicks ClubCard increased active membership by 800,000 to 12.9 million. Loyalty members contributed 83.7% of sales in Clicks. Customers received R527m in cashback rewards over the six months.
Clicks Group Half-Year Earnings Hit by Warehouse System Delays
Clicks said retail turnover was held back by delays in implementing a warehouse management system (WMS) at its Cape Town distribution centre. The disruption reduced product availability in stores in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. It was most visible during the festive season, when demand typically peaks.
Management estimates the WMS delay reduced retail turnover by about R175m. That equates to roughly 0.9% of retail sales. The group said availability improved steadily and returned to targeted levels by the end of February.
Retail trading was also affected by aggressive discounting by competitors over the festive period. In a constrained economy, promotional intensity can quickly reshape volume and margin outcomes.
Distribution Strength Offsets Pressure in Some Channels
Distribution turnover grew 13.0%. This was mainly driven by a 31.1% increase in revenue from preferred supplier bulk contracts.
UPD delivered strong growth in wholesale and preferred supplier bulk distribution turnover. However, the group noted that UPD remains constrained in the hospital and independent channels. That matters for manufacturers and providers watching channel mix, tender dynamics and purchasing behaviour across the system.
The group also said UPD has recently acquired a medical consumables business. It plans to launch the offering to customers, broadening its healthcare supply proposition.
Expansion Plans Continue Despite Consumer Strain
Clicks increased its footprint to 1,003 stores. The national pharmacy network expanded to 795. The group plans to open 40–50 new stores and the same number of new pharmacies in the 2026 financial year. It will also pilot 10 differentiated concept stores in the second half of the year.
Capital expenditure of R311m was invested, mainly in new stores and pharmacies, refurbishments, supply chain and IT. Planned capex for the 2026 financial year is R1.3bn. This includes R662m for new sites and the refurbishment of 80–90 stores, plus R594m for supply chain, IT, and infrastructure.
Clicks expects the consumer environment to remain under significant pressure in the second half. It cited rising fuel prices and related inflationary impacts on household spending.
For the full year, Clicks forecasts diluted HEPS growth of 4% to 9%. The outlook assumes retail conditions remain constrained and that geopolitical conflict continues to weigh on South Africa’s macroeconomic outlook.
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