S.Africa's Mr Price expects half-year profit to fall by at least 20%

South African retailer Mr Price said on Thursday its half-year profit would fall by at least 20% due to the impact of the coronavirus, sending its shares down 3.75% at the market open.

The clothing and homeware retailer said group total sales in the 20 weeks to Aug 15 were down 19.2%.

It said its headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the period would likely fall by at least 88.6 cents ($0.0514) from the 443.2 cents a year earlier.

HEPS is the main profit measure in South Africa.

"Performance exceeded internal expectations and the group has gained market share for four months in a row to June," the company said in a trading statement.

The retailer reported a 10.4% fall in full-year earnings in June.

($1 = 17.2484 rand)

(Reporting by Emma Rumney; editing by Jason Neely)