Spur Corp. reports increased earnings driven by customer loyalty to its most popular brands

Spur Corporation has reported another strong trading performance for the six months to end-December 2025.

The brands owned by the restaurant franchise group include Doppio Zero, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, RocoMamas and John Dory's.

Headline earnings increased by 12.9% to R163 million, driven by growing customer loyalty to its market-leading brands and the accelerated expansion of its restaurant footprint, the group says.

Group revenue increased by 8.5% to R2.2 billion, driven by revenue growth of 7.5% in the South African franchise segment.

The group increased its interim dividend by 13.2% to 120 cents per share.

The iconic Spur brand increased restaurant sales by 7.2%, comprising 64% of total South African sales.

At home, the group opened 29 restaurants during the half year, which included seven Spurs, seven Panarottis, five RocoMamas and four Doppio Zero outlets. Eight restaurants were closed, bringing the local restaurant footprint to 640.

The group plans to open 42 new restaurants in South Africa and 14 internationally for the 2026 financial year.

Despite the pressure on consumers, Spur has been able to convince diners to spend more than their menu inflation rate.

Stephen Grootes asks Spur Corporation CEO Val Nichas how they've managed this in the face of stiff competition in the restaurant and fast food space.

"With difficulty!" Nichas exclaims.

One advantage the group has is probably just the size of its active loyal customer base, she says.

"There's a big amount of competitive activity out there, so it has not been easy even though the results are good."

She points out that these are overall results, noting that in certain shopping nodes where the competition is stiff, there are some stores that aren't trading as well because customers are strapped for cash.

Customers are also less forgiving in these constrained times, she says.

"I think there's just no room for error. They're going to spend money, they have busy schedules and when they come into a restaurant to have a little bit of connection time with their families and have a meal, they have high expectations."

If you're a fan of the Spur brand, you'll know one of the drawcards is that you know exactly what to expect from your meal.

If a restaurant does not deliver the expected experience, that is when they could lose customers, Nichas says.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview with the Spur Corporation CEO