Super Retail Group posts a 2.8 per cent increase in full-year revenue to $3.55bn amid outdoor boom

Super Retail chief executive Anthony Heraghty says sales at his stores rebounded in the second half of the financial year as pandemic restrictions were eased.

Super Retail CEO Anthony Heraghty says shoppers returned to stores in the second half Picture: Jane Dempster

Super Retail chief executive Anthony Heraghty says sales at his stores rebounded in the second half of the financial year as pandemic restrictions were eased – and consumers are also building on spending habits that emerged before the pandemic hit.

“What I would say is as people have come out of lockdown their levels of engagement with our categories have been re-established at that higher rate,” said Mr Heraghty, whose company runs the Supercheap Auto, BCF, Rebel and Macpac retail chains.

“So what‘s really pleasing for us is we have seen a big growth in engagement with our categories as we got into early calendar 2020 and that growth has grown, held and steadily grown off that higher base,” he said on Wednesday after Super Retail posted a 2.8 per cent increase in full-year sales to $3.453bn as net profit for the period fell 19.9 per cent to $301m.

Despite stronger sales the slump in profit saw a cut to its final dividend. Super Retail declared a fully franked final dividend of 43 cents per share, down from 55 cents per share paid last year at the full-year results.

Camping specialist Macpac generating like-for-like sales growth of 42 per cent between July and mid-August.

Outlook for the retailer promised a better 2023, and for the first six weeks of the financial year Supercheap Auto like-for-like sales were up 15 per cent, Rebel sales up 13 per cent, BCF up 17 per cent and Macpac – the best performer – up 42 per cent.

“What we are seeing is people absolutely engaged in domestic tourism, are keen to get out and about,” said Mr Heraghty.

“Health and fitness have been a strong driver with the opportunity to organise sports which is back into gear … people‘s cars are getting older, they can’t get new ones, that means they’ve got to work on them. There are a whole bunch of macro factors that are propelling the business, but those factors have been around for a while and look like they are being sustained.”

Super Retail shares closed up 81c, or 7.9 per cent, at $11.03.

However, while current trading remains strong, the retailer expects rising interest rates and higher costs of living will start to impact consumer spending in the second half of the financial year and that elevated levels of demand which arose during the pandemic will begin to subside.

Mr Heraghty did hold out hope that some of Super Retail’s categories, led by Rebel and Supercheap Auto, can grow and perform strongly even if there is an economic downturn and a crimp in consumer spending.

“If you look at our average purchase price all of our brands have an average shopping basket of below $100 so we are not in the discretionary items here … we hope for the best but we plan for the worst,” he said.

The lockdowns in calendar 2021 crashed sales for many outdoor and group activities, such as camping and recreation, with Super Retail unveiling that like-for-like sales were down 0.6 per cent for the year. But as the Omicron wave petered out and Covid-19 restrictions eased there was a bounce in the second half as like-for-like sales rose 5 per cent.

Online sales across all its retail operations were up 44 per cent to $601m, a record for the group. Improving foot traffic at its stores was further bolstered by a roaring trade online and a fast-growing loyalty program which now sees Super Retail with 9.2m club members, up 14 per cent.