Solid results for Clicks, with in-store pharmacies a key driver of growth

Health and beauty retailer Clicks has reported strong turnover and profit growth for the six months to end-February 2024.

Group turnover was up 9%, while retail turnover increased by 12.4%

Group profit rose 10% to R1.27 billion, and total income grew by 14.1% to R6.6 billion.

Diluted headline earnings per share (HEPS) jumped 13% to 534 cents.

The Group declared an interim dividend of R2.10 per share, an increase of 13.5% compared to the previous period.

Clicks opened its 900th store in February.

With the opening of a net 41 new outlets in the past year, the brand has now expanded its retail footprint to 902 stores.

A further 27 pharmacies were opened, extending the national pharmacy presence to 718.

Bruce Whitfield asks CEO Bertina Engelbrecht whether the strategy of bringing pharmacies into stores will continue to satisfy investors in the longer term.

There is certainly room for expanding pharmacy market share as a key driver of Clicks' overall growth, Engelbrecht says.

"We've only got 24% market share - now if you put all of corporate retail pharmacy together, it's around 50% market share."

"If you look at the rest of the world where this sort of drug store model also prevails, corporates actually get up to 70-80% of the total market share."

"In terms of exploring the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa... we can already see that our stores in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini are doing phenomenally well - and right now we are contemplating Zambia!"

Bertina Engelbrecht, CEO - Clicks Group