Retailer Mr Price’s telecoms business has, for the first time, breached the R1 billion revenue mark since it was established.
This emerged as the JSE-listed Mr Price this morning announced its financial results for the year ended 2 April.
According to the retailer, the telecoms segment exceeded R1 billion in revenue for the first time, increasing 34.4% to R1.2 billion.
It notes Mr Price Cellular, launched in 2017, has reported exponential growth since inception and is now available in 374 stores with promising growth opportunities, most notably the rollout of standalone stores.
Cellular handsets and accessories gained 130 basis points (bps) of market share, according to Growth for Knowledge (190bps including Powercell in Power Fashion), a significant gain considering the disruption caused by global supply chain challenges and the civil unrest during the period, says the company.
Mr Price entered the mobile space with its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) offering, MRP Mobile, in 2014. The MVNO piggybacks on Cell C.
The retailer adds that its online sales constitute 2.9% (2.3% excluding acquisitions) of retail sales and increased 48.2% against the high base growth of 64.1%.
The group maintained its high customer engagement levels which were best reflected by its online traffic market share increasing 70bps to 13.3%, the second highest behind Takealot among omni-channel and pure-play retailers, it adds.
Its nearly six million social media followers grew by double-digits, says the company, noting the Mr Price mobile app remains the highest ranked South African fashion shopping app on the Google Play store, with customer usage up 27.3%, according to Similar Web.
The company increased basic earnings per share 26.9% to 1 298.6 cents. Headline earnings per share grew 20.1%.
The group grew its annual market share by 140bps, according to the Retailers’ Liaison Committee and its operating profit exceeded R4 billion for the first time, with operating margin increasing 60bps to 17.7%.
Group CEO Mark Blair says: “I am very satisfied with the way in which the team have responded to the multiple challenges we have faced this year. It is important to remember that we were one of the first businesses in South Africa to get back to pre-COVID-19 earnings levels.
“Our base is much higher than most of the market as we reported earnings growth in FY2021 when most companies’ earnings were declining. We have continued to grow market share and have further entrenched ‘Your Value Champion’ promise to our customers.”
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