Shoprite posts surprise drop in FY profit

Shoprite reported a surprise 3.8% fall in annual earnings on Tuesday, citing currency devaluation in Angola.

Africa‘s biggest grocery store chain reported diluted headline earnings per share (EPS) of 968.7 cents in the year ended June versus a 1 090 cents estimate in a poll of 10 analysts by Thomson Reuters’ I/B/E/S.

Headline EPS, the most widely watched profit gauge in SouthAfrica, strips out certain one-off items.

Sales of the Cape Town-based company rose 3.1% to R145.3 billion ($9.93 billion).