Decent sales numbers fail to boost Clicks shares
The company says group retail sales grew 7.8% in the 20 weeks to January 13, a slowdown compared to a year before
The market has greeted relatively upbeat sales numbers from Clicks with a dose of scepticism. The health-care product retailer said on Tuesday group retail sales in the 20 weeks to January 13 were up 7.8%, or 4.5% excluding net new stores, thanks in part to selling-price increases of 1.1%. While sales growth has slowed — a year before, group retail sales rose 13% — other retailers have felt the pinch of SA’s economic malaise more acutely. Following the trading update, shares in Clicks immediately leapt to R202.50, the best level in nearly five months, though the stock retreated to a close of R194.99, a 0.8% decline on the day. Shares in rival group Dis-Chem Pharmacies fell 4% to R25, with most of the declines coming after Clicks’s update. With other retailers reporting weaker sales numbers, “I think the market is starting to question at what margin is Clicks able to achieve these stellar results”, said Gryphon Asset Management portfolio manager Casparus Treurnicht. More importantly,...
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