Super Group shares climbed more than 7% on Wednesday after the logistics, fleet management and dealership group guided towards a sharp rise in earnings from its continuing operations, reinforcing a rally that has lifted the stock about 30% over the past year and 15% over the past six months.
The company expects headline earnings per share from continuing operations for the year to end-June to rise between 33.6% and 40.9%, to a range of 328.7c to 346.7c. Investors responded quickly, pushing the share almost 8% higher in early trade before it settled around 6.8% up by the afternoon. The scale of the move suggests the market had not fully priced in the strength of the underlying businesses, which management said gained share despite a difficult macroeconomic backdrop, infrastructure constraints and supply chain disruption.
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A distinction between continuing and total earnings is central to reading the update. Total HEPS, which includes discontinued operations, is expected to fall between 26.9% and 35.4%. That decline is a base effect rather than a deterioration: the prior year’s figures were flattered by the profit on the disposal of SG Fleet and the earnings that business contributed before it was sold. Stripping out that one-off, the continuing operations tell a story of momentum.
| Super Group guidance | Figure |
|---|---|
| HEPS (continuing) | +33.6% to +40.9% |
| HEPS range (continuing) | 328.7c–346.7c |
| Total HEPS (incl. discontinued) | −26.9% to −35.4% |
| Share move on the day | ~+6.8% |
| Share gain (1 year) | ~30% |
| H1 revenue | R22.68bn (+7%) |
| H1 operating profit | +8.7% |
| H1 HEPS | 155.4c (+28%) |
The guidance builds on a strong first half to end-December, when revenue rose 7% to R22.68bn, operating profit gained 8.7% and HEPS increased 28% to 155.4c. Much of that strength came from the dealership arm, where demand for lower-priced vehicles has reshaped the sales mix. Sales volumes of Chinese and Indian brands more than doubled, rising 102% in the period, and those marques accounted for 29.7% of the group’s total new vehicle sales. Super Group added Geely, Tata Motors, Mahindra, GWM and Ford franchises to its network, positioning itself to capture a structural shift in the local market towards affordability as household budgets stay under pressure.
That shift is not unique to Super Group. Rivals across the motor retail sector have flagged the same trend, with cheaper Asian brands eroding the share of established players and pressuring used-car operators, underlining how quickly the competitive landscape is changing. Super Group’s early move to secure the franchises has allowed it to benefit rather than defend.
The group has also pushed beyond its traditional operations. Earlier this year it completed the acquisition of a 70% stake in mining equipment rental business DIG Group after securing regulatory approval, extending its fleet solutions division into mining services. The deal adds operations across 19 mining sites serving coal, chrome and gold producers, giving the group exposure to commodity-linked demand and a degree of diversification away from the consumer-facing dealership cycle.
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Management pointed to a strong balance sheet, with low debt and ample headroom in its borrowing facilities, as support for further expansion. That financial position matters as the group balances organic growth in vehicle retail with bolt-on acquisitions in adjacent sectors.
Super Group will publish its full-year results on 8 September, when investors will look for confirmation that the continuing-operations momentum has held and for detail on how the DIG acquisition and the expanded dealership network are contributing. For now, the guidance has done enough to restore confidence in a business reshaping itself around cheaper vehicles and new industrial markets, even as the headline total earnings figure masks that progress.