Bad news for Boxer

Boxer told shareholders it expects its HEPS to decline for the 26 weeks ended 31 August 2025.


Pick n Pay’s pride and joy, Boxer, is expecting to report a significant decline in its earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) due to the structure of its initial public offering (IPO) on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

Boxer told shareholders on Monday that HEPS are expected to decline by 28% to 34% to between 108.57c and 118.85c for the 26 weeks ended 31 August 2025.

HEPS focuses on core earnings, while EPS includes all earnings, providing a broader view of a company’s financial performance. Both are important for investors and analysts to evaluate a company’s profitability.

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Boxer’s IPO

Boxer was listed on the JSE late last year to raise at least R8 billion to reduce Pick n Pay’s debt, support its turnaround, and ensure the discount retailer gains independence to pursue its own growth strategy.

The discount retailer said the decline in earnings is not a reflection of operational performance, but the structure of the IPO resulted in a substantial increase in the share count.

“The decline in per share earnings metric was due to an increase in the weighted average share count arising from the IPO, which resulted in the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue increasing by 51.1% from R299 million for H1 2025 to R453 million for H1 2026,” said the retailer.  

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Boxer’s operational performance

The discount retailer stated that its turnover for the 26 weeks ended 31 August 2025 increased by 13.9%, with like-for-like sales rising by 5.3%.

Boxer said its trading momentum strengthened in the last two months of the half-year. The retailer was expecting headline earnings to come in 9% higher at between R492 million and R539 million.

“The improvement in headline earnings is driven by a strong trading result, which was able to partially offset the previously guided incremental costs associated with being a listed entity,” it said.  

Official results for the period will be published on 13 October 2025.

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