JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Shoprite Holdings jumped 6 percent on Monday, heading towards its biggest daily gain since 2008, after the retailer’s double-digit rise in quarterly revenue relieved some concerns about the impact of weak consumer spending.
Africa’s largest retailer said revenue for the three months to end-September rose by 12.3 percent from the previous year, with its core South African supermarket business seeing a similar increase.
That performance far outstrips the local industry average of around 2 percent year-on-year growth in July and August, according to data from Statistics South Africa.
Shoprite’s shares were up 6 percent at 149.46 rand at 0821 GMT, on track for their biggest one-day gain in six years.
The grocer’s stores in sub-Saharan countries outside of South Africa saw growth of 16 percent, reflecting rising demand for consumer goods in fast-growing markets such as Nigeria.
Shoprite, like many South African companies, has been on a push to increase its sub-Saharan presence to offset weaker demand at home, where consumers are burdened with heavy debt, slow economic growth and higher fuel prices.
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