By Nqobile Dludla
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African grocery group Pick n Pay on Monday reported a narrower full-year loss before tax, reflecting a lower trading loss in its core supermarket business, and said it expects that unit to now break even in 2028.
The country’s second biggest grocery retailer by southern Africa turnover is in the middle of a turnaround aimed at regaining customers and returning to profitability after years of losing market share to bigger rival Shoprite and underperforming stores.
Pick n Pay’s loss before tax and capital items came in at 237 million rand ($13.3 million) in the 53 weeks ended March 2, from a loss of 1.4 billion rand the previous year.
The full-year trading loss in its core Pick n Pay business narrowed by 1 billion rand to 549 million rand, the company said.
The results were also supported by a 27.3% reduction in net interest paid as the group’s recapitalization plan made its initial impact on debt service costs, it said.
“When I returned in October 2023, I stated that the recovery of Pick n Pay would be a multi-year process and that things would get worse before they got better,” said CEO Sean Summers.
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