Flat revenue of troubled Truworths reflects pressure on retail sector
Change in interest regulations knocks profit
The flat revenue numbers coming out of clothing retailer Truworths reflects the pressure that the retail sector is facing in SA. Truworths, in its results for the 26 weeks to December, said revenue was unchanged at R10.89bn and operating profit fell 8.6% to R2.2bn. The group’s results mirror the broader difficulty among local clothing retailers, especially in the lead-up to Christmas. Adjusted for inflation, the annual decline in December's retail sales came to 1.4%, according StatsSA’s retail figures released last week. The difficulty in the sector can also be seen in the performance of Woolworths, which only reported a 2.4% rise to R37bn for the half-year to December 23. Mr Price reported similar problems, with SA retail sales increasing 1.1%, to R6.2bn for the nine months to end-December. The only listed clothing retailer to buck the trend so far is TFG, which said turnover increased 8.3% for December compared to December 2017. Truworths was also hurt by the change in the maximum...
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