Sharenet Sites 
Sharenet Sites
Lewis Group Limited
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
Registration number: 2004/009817/06
Share code: LEW
ISIN: ZAE000058236
Bond code: LEWI
("Lewis Group" or "the group")
TRADING UPDATE FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 2023
Lewis Group increased total revenue by 8.7% in the nine months to December 2023 in an
environment of sustained pressure on consumer disposable income while load shedding
and congestion at the local ports continued to negatively impact economic growth.
Group merchandise sales grew by 4.2%. The group's traditional retail brands of Lewis,
Beares and Best Home & Electric grew sales by 6.6%, driven by the continued consumer
demand for credit. Sales in the group's cash retail brand UFO declined by 14.5%.
Group credit sales increased by 17.5%, accounting for 65.8% of total sales. Group cash
sales reflect the impact of higher fuel, energy, food and borrowing costs on discretionary
spending and declined by 14.4%.
Comparable store sales in the traditional brands grew by 3.2% for the nine month period
and by 1.5% for the group.
Group merchandise sales for the third quarter to December 2023 increased by 3.5%. Sales
in the traditional retail business increased by 5.7% with UFO sales 14.8% lower.
Other revenue, consisting of effective interest income, ancillary services income and
insurance revenue (measured in terms of IFRS 17), benefited from the strong credit sales
growth over the past two years, increasing by 18.5% for the third quarter and 15.2% for the
nine months.
Collection rates remained resilient in the weak consumer environment at similar levels to
those reported for the interim results to September 2023. Collection rates settled at 80.7%
for the nine months (Dec 2022: 82.0%) and 80.3% for the third quarter (Q3 2022: 82.7%).
Debtor costs were 47.4% higher for the quarter and 59.8% higher for the nine month period
due to the robust growth in the debtors' book.
The financial information in this trading update is the responsibility of the directors and has
not been reviewed or reported on by the group's independent auditor. The group's annual
results for the year to 31 March 2024 are expected to be released on SENS on or about 30
May 2024.
Cape Town
26 January 2024
Sponsor
The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited
Debt Sponsor
Absa Corporate and Investment Bank, a division of Absa Bank Limited
Date: 26-01-2024 08:21:00
Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za
Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of
the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
