Boxer punches past inflation with volume gains and first dividend

Boxer’s latest interim results tell the story of a retailer in full stride. For the 26 weeks to 31 August 2025, the company lifted turnover 13.9% to R22.5-billion, a performance driven by customers buying more. 

The strong showing came alongside its first post-IPO (Initial Public Offering) dividend, showing that Boxer’s volume-led strategy is paying off.

Volume wins in a deflationary market

Boxer’s like-for-like sales rose 5.3%, beating its internal selling price inflation of -0.7%. That means the retailer sold more products, not just more expensive ones. 

CEO Marek Masojada credited “healthy volume growth underpinning the strong like-for-like sales figures,” adding that the grocery and liquor categories were “the fastest-growing areas in our business, and probably leading that market share gain”.

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The company’s market share has been “consistently and significantly” growing, he said. The addition of 25 new stores during the period under review — nine Superstores, 15 Liquor stores and one Build store — provided the physical base for that expansion. “On average, we exceeded the original turnover feasibilities on each of these nine stores by 36%,” Masojada said.

Profit up, per-share numbers down 

Trading profit climbed 15.1% to R931-million, keeping the trading margin steady at 4.1%. That stability is noteworthy as Boxer absorbed R57-million in new costs linked to its listing. 

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Chief financial officer David Wayne said trading profit “includes R57-million worth of new costs that’s associated with being a separately listed entity”. “If these costs were excluded,” Wayne said, “the trading profit growth would be 22.1%.”

The bottom line per share told a different story. Headline earnings rose 5.3% to R518-million, while headline earnings per share (HEPS) fell 30.3% to 114.28 cents. 

The decline was not operational, but was caused by a 51.1% jump in the number of shares after the November 2024 IPO.

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Finance charges increased 79.1% to R231-million, reflecting debt restructuring and lease-related costs from store expansion. Yet Boxer still managed to move from a net debt of R180-million at the end of the last financial year to a net cash position of R1.1-billion by the close of the first half of the current financial year, thanks to cash generation and R1-billion released from working capital.

Expansion, infrastructure and jobs

Boxer’s new Tongaat Distribution Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, completed in September, gives Boxer supply-chain capacity for the next four to five years. Masojada described the construction of the centre as a “milestone project” of “significant investment”. Wayne expects a 0.1% impact on their trading margin in the second half as the centre ramps up, with normalisation over three to four years.

Capital expenditure rose 73.9% to R539-million, largely for the new stores and the Tongaat facility. The expansion created 2,300 new jobs and led to 2,100 internal promotions. 

Boxer’s customer base also deepened. The Boxer Rewards Club reached 2.3 million members within its first year. “We are seeing evidence of a change in consumer spending with bigger basket spends amongst members and an increasing number of visits per month per customer,” Masojada said. 

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The board declared an inaugural interim dividend of 45.30 cents per share, representing 40% of headline earnings per share. 

Trading momentum remained strong in the six weeks after the period ended, but management was careful to temper expectations ahead of the Black Friday and festive season. The board warned of “some margin pressure relative to the 5.4% FY25 trading margin” for the full year, mainly due to competition and the short-term costs of the Tongaat centre.

The retailer is on track to open 60 new stores in the 2026 financial year and continues to claw share from both formal and informal rivals. “Our numbers are showing that our grocery segment and our liquor category are the fastest-growing areas in our business,” Masojada said. “It probably includes the informal market and clearly we’re taking something from the players that are in that same segment.” DM