WOOLWORTHS will be paying shareholders a bigger interim dividend in
March, having battled and conquered challenging trading conditions in SA
and Australia.
The retailer on Thursday declared an interim gross
cash dividend of 133c for the six months to December 27 2015, up 37.8%
from 96.5c in the year-earlier period.
The company’s outlook, however, does not seem too rosy.
"Conditions are expected to become more difficult....
Increasing
interest rates in SA will add further pressure on local consumers. Our
response is to ensure that we offer our customers value and quality
across our brands, products and services, as well as focus on costs and
efficiencies," the company said.
Woolworths reported a 17.1%
increase in group sales for the period under review. Diluted headline
earnings per share (HEPS) were up 30.8% to 251.7c while revenue climbed
15.7% to R32.9bn. Operating profit showed growth of 27.1% to R3.9bn
compared with the year-earlier period.
In the past year, the share has climbed 12.53%.
At the close of the JSE on Wednesday Woolworths was trading at R93.29.
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