Choppies posted a strong rise in sales for the year ended 30 June 2025, but higher expenses and one-off losses weighed on its bottom line.
The Botswana-headquartered retailer grew revenue by 14.6% to P9.17 billion, supported by the opening of 30 new stores, inflationary price increases and an 8.7% rise in volumes. Like-for-like store sales climbed 8.6%. Retail sales rose to P9.1 billion from P7.9 billion in 2024.
Gross profit increased by 16.8% to P1.89 billion, with margins improving to 20.8% from 20.4%, thanks to stronger performance across most segments. However, Liquorama’s gross margin slipped to 12.4% from 13.9% due to stiff competition from retailers, wholesalers and illicit liquor imports.
Operating profit fell 5.1% to P318 million, though adjusted operating profit rose 12.2% to P386 million. Profit after tax dropped 23% to P151 million, while basic earnings per share fell to 8.4 thebe from 10.5 thebe.
The weaker bottom line was linked to rising expenses, which surged 21.8% on account of new stores, impairments and a loss on the sale of the Zimbabwean unit in December 2024. The group also faced a higher effective tax rate of 30.7%, largely due to losses in Namibia and the Zimbabwe disposal.
Despite the profit dip, Choppies declared a final dividend of 0.6 thebe per share, bringing the full-year payout to 2.2 thebe, down from 3.0 thebe last year.