Woolworths Food versus Pick n Pay

An analysis of Woolworths Food and Pick n Pay’s latest financial results show that Woolworths is a clear winner between the two retailers.

Woolworths released its interim results on 28 February 2024, which revealed that Woolworths Food increased its sales by 8.22% to R22.4 billion.

Woolworths Food increased its gross profits by 11.45% to R5.5 billion and increased its profit before tax by 11.76% to R1.45 billion.

The retailer’s 24.6% reported gross profit margin is also significantly higher than that of Pick n Pay.

Woolworths also reported strong profitability in its gross profit margin of 24.6% and its profit before-tax margin of 6.44%.

Pick n Pay reported its interim results in October last year which showed an increase in its revenue of only 5.39%.

Its gross profits increased by only 0.4% from the previous year, and it only reported an 18.5% gross profit margin.

Pick n Pay, however, experienced pain in the performance of its profits before tax which decreased by a massive 216%.

This translated directly into a decline in net profits, where it reported a net loss of R571 million for its interim period.

These figures formed part of Pick n Pay’s interim results for the 26 weeks that ended on 27 August 2023.

The Pick n Pay board was so disappointed with the performance, particularly in Pick n Pay supermarkets, that it fired former CEO Pieter Boone.

The company appointed Sean Summers as its new CEO. He is a Pick n Pay veteran who previously led the group through a highly successful period.

Woolworths versus Pick n Pay

The table below compares Woolworths Food and Pick n Pay regarding core metrics. It shows how Woolworths outperformed Pick n Pay.