Johannesburg - The Foschini Group, which has been spreading its wings, says revenue for the year to March gained 31.2 percent to R21.1 billion.
However, excluding its Phase Eight brand, revenue would only have gained 11.6 percent, the listed company says in a statement on Thursday.
The company notes it had strong cash sales growth of 18.4 percent, which now makes up 48.3 percent of turnover. It says headline earnings per share from continuing operations, (excluding once-off acquisition costs, gained 17.6 percent to 1 055.8 cents.
TFG, as the company is known, bought 85 percent of Fashion Eight last January for R2.6 billion. The brand, known for being upmarket, now trades out of 542 outlets in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and America, with 108 outlets opening during the year and 10 closures.
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TFG CEO Doug Murray says: "Given our continued focus on cost containment, our ongoing South African and African expansion strategy, complimented by our international acquisitions and growth, we have delivered good returns for our shareholders, despite the tough economic climate and market uncertainty."
Turnover growth in the clothing merchandise category was 41.8 percent including Phase Eight , followed by homeware and furniture at 11.7 percent, cosmetics at 9.2 percent, cellphones came in at 7.4 percent and jewellery at 7 percent.
Total same store turnover (excluding Phase Eight) grew by 5.7 percent while product inflation averaged about 8 percent.
TFG says it has now increased its reach by 209 stores in South Africa and the rest of Africa, and closed 27.
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As a result, it currently operates out of 2 462 stores on the African continent and plans to open more than 150 stores within the next 12 months which will increase their African trading space by about 6 percent.
"We have achieved this for several years and are confident this will continue because of the diversity of our offerings," says Murray. "We have a comprehensive stable of brands, at different levels of maturity, and many are not yet fully represented in shopping centres."
The group currently trades out of 176 stores across six countries in the rest of Africa.
Murray says, despite an uncertain outlook, TFG's strategy is appropriate.
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