Clothing and general merchandise business, which contributes almost two-thirds to group revenue, increased revenue 6.5% to R45bnPepkor, previously Steinhoff Africa Retail, trimmed its dividend for the year to end-September by almost a quarter on Monday due to a contraction in the building materials market.
The company’s policy is of a dividend covered three times by earnings, with the 20.9c gross cash dividend representing a 24.8% fall from the prior comparative period. Revenue in the group’s fintech business, which includes Capfin and Flash, jumped 43.9% to R7.2bn. Virtual turnover growth at Flash, which services informal traders, exceeded 20%.The group — whose brands include Pep, Ackermans, Incredible Connection and Timbercity — was a wholly owned subsidiary of Steinhoff until it was listed on the JSE in September 2017.
Pepkor said on Monday it remains cautiously optimistic about the next year, and that its merchandise-buying programme will reflect this.