Table of Contents
The Foschini Group has widened its profit warning for the financial year ending March 31, 2026, telling shareholders that both earnings per share and headline earnings per share are now expected to fall by more than 20%, as weak consumer conditions in the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa continue to weigh on the group's results.
The update, released Friday ahead of management's attendance at investor conferences during the week of March 23, marked an escalation from an earlier warning in February in which the group had flagged only a decline in basic earnings per share. Now both measures are firmly in negative territory, and TFG said it will publish a further trading statement once it has greater certainty on the precise range before the full annual results land on June 5.
The numbers paint a picture of a business generating sales growth that is not translating into profit. In the first half of the 2026 financial year, group revenue rose 12.2% to R31.4 billion, boosted by the 2024 acquisition of British fashion brand White Stuff. But operating profit fell 9.9% to R2.3 billion, earnings per share dropped 21% to 290.8 cents and the interim dividend was cut 18.8% to 130 cents per share.
The most recent trading update covers the 11-week period from December 28, 2025, to March 14, 2026. During that stretch, TFG Africa saw sales grow 7.6%, partly aided by the dissipation of the two-pot retirement fund withdrawals that had boosted the comparable period a year earlier. Year to date, TFG Africa sales are up 5.2%, with online sales and value-added revenues showing strong momentum. Gross margin has normalised since January, the group said, but the recovery has not been sufficient to make up for margin lost during the year, particularly in the peak third quarter.
TFG London posted sales growth of 3.4% in British pounds in the fourth quarter to date, including White Stuff in the base. Excluding White Stuff, UK sales grew just 0.4% over the full year to date. TFG Australia, which operates the Phase Eight, Whistles and Hobbs brands in that market, continued to face a difficult trading environment as Australian consumers pulled back on discretionary spending.
Geopolitical tensions have added another layer of pressure. TFG said global uncertainty is likely to contribute to elevated input costs and cautious consumer behaviour as it heads into the final weeks of the financial year. Cost discipline and operational efficiencies are now the group's primary management levers, it said.
TFG's share price has declined roughly 45% over the past year, one of the sharper falls among JSE-listed retailers and a reflection of how investors have reassessed the group's earnings trajectory since the profit warnings began accumulating.
The group said its balance sheet remains sound, supported by committed banking facilities and prudent working capital management. Inventory in TFG Africa is expected to close within normal levels. TFG cited its diversification across three geographies and its local manufacturing capability in South Africa as factors that provide some resilience against a difficult global backdrop.
TFG operates a broad portfolio of retail brands including Foschini, Markham, Jet, @home, American Swiss, Sportscene and Total Sports in Africa, alongside White Stuff, Phase Eight, Whistles and Hobbs internationally.
