South Africa's Dis-Chem forecasts higher revenue on beauty products demand

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Dis-Chem Pharmacies Ltd said on Friday its 5-month group revenue is likely to have risen by 4.7%, as healthcare becomes a greater share of overall consumer spend and beauty product sales recovered following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Dis-Chem, which runs the second-largest chain of pharmacies in South Africa by store count, said revenue for the Sept. 1 to Feb. 5 period rose 8.7%, excluding COVID-related sales.

With the pandemic easing and people back in offices and attending events, consumers are also spending on beauty products instead of just medicines.

Dis-Chem said it experienced a strong recovery in the beauty category, helping boost retail revenue by 3.2%, while wholesale revenue rose by 8.6% for the Sept. 1 to Feb. 5 period.

The company's early investment in generators has resulted in minimal disruption during rolling power cuts. Its diesel expenses rose by 54% to 36 million rand ($1.98 million) for the period.

State electricity utility Eskom is implementing the worst rolling blackouts on record, leaving households in the dark for up to 10 hours a day, disrupting manufacturing and hurting businesses.

Dis-Chem, which competes with Clicks Group Ltd, will release its annual results on May 19.

($1 = 18.2059 rand)

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)