Sports retail chain Rebel and Supercheap Auto drove strong top-line full-year growth for Super Retail Group, setting a new revenue record. However, shareholder-attributable statutory net profit fell 7.2 per cent year on year to $222 million.
Group MD and CEO Paul Bradshaw hailed the 3.2 per cent increase in revenue to $4.2 billion, achieved “in the face of significant headwinds that included geopolitical instability in the Middle East, unfavourable weather and increasing interest rate pressure on households”.
Like-for-like group-wide growth reached 1.8 per cent, a positive result given the company has just embarked on a five-year strategy focused on growth and transformation.
Bradshaw cited the investment in a new Human Resources Core and Payroll system and the implementation of a new automated distribution centre in Victoria for the bottom-line decline.
By brand, Rebel sales rose by 4.5 per cent over the year with Supercheap Auto up 3.9 per cent, both driven by network expansion. Macpac sales rose 3.5 per cent.
The group’s underperformer was BCF (Boating, Camping & Fishing), where sales rose a mere 0.2 per cent but fell 2.1 per cent like-for-like.
Group-wide online sales rose 5 per cent to $552 million and now account for 13.1 per cent of turnover. Click and collect sales rose 10.3 per cent and now account for 47.5 per cent of online sales.
Super Retail Group grew gross margin by 10 basis points to 45.7 per cent, with higher margins at Rebel and BCF offset by modest declines at Supercheap Auto and Macpac.
Nine Rebel stores opened and nine closed, leaving the network at 162 across Australia, while Supercheap Auto added 10 stores to reach 362. Five BCF stores opened, taking the footprint to 170, while Macpac remained at 103 with four opening and four closing.
The company said Macpac sales increased by 3.7 per cent in New Zealand, with subdued demand in NSW and Victoria offsetting growth in the rest of Australia.
For the first seven weeks of the new trading year, the company achieved like-for-like sales growth of 1.5 per cent, and total sales growth of 3.5 per cent, with Supercheap Auto and Rebel leading the group, despite the latter coming off a Fifa World Cup sales boost.
Bradshaw expressed confidence in the team and its ability to overcome challenges in the broader landscape.
“In my first nine months as CEO, I have seen firsthand the commitment of our 15,500 team members and their ability to respond quickly to external challenges to our business,” he said.
“Our team’s passion, the diversity of our product offering and the strength of our iconic brands were instrumental in delivering this result.”
