Super Retail Group sales climb by 7% to $3.8 billion for the fiscal year and up to 9% when accounting for the one additional week in the last fiscal year.

Due to the positive results and Rebel and Supercheap chains posting record turnover, Super Retail Group chief executive Anthony Heraghty has compensated stakeholders with a unique dividend of 25¢ a share after sales.

According to the Financial Times, group sales increased 8% on a “like-for-like basis, but moderated in the second half as it cycled strong sales from the prior period and higher cost of living pressures hobbled consumer discretionary spending”.

Additionally, earnings before interest and tax grew 10.4% or $438 million, while the statutory net profit grew 9% to $263 million.

Events like the FIFA Women’s World Cup had added to the success of Rebel’s “homes of sport” format, which enabled sales to grow by 8% to $1.31 billion Heraghty said.

For Supercheap, one of their largest brands, sales surged by 8% to $1.45 billion with auto maintenance performing best. In “like-for-like sales”, the Financial Times reported growth of 10%.

Also doing well was their BCF brand which won by a slight margin with a 1% increase to $840 million, however, like-for-like sales were the same.

One of the smaller brands, Macpac, had a 22% rise in sales in adventure wear with a full-year totalling around $216 million.

The company said nice weather supported robust sales in insulation and wet weather apparel.

Heraghty attributes too much of their positive results to Supercheap Auto and BCF but cautioned sales growth is levelling out.

“Sales growth has continued to moderate as the group cycles strong sales in the prior year and rising interest rates and cost of living pressures dampen consumer spending. The group has a solid track record of performance through the economic cycle. Our customer value proposition and low average ticket price mean we are well positioned for a more value-conscious consumer environment,” he said.

In an attempt to drive more sales, Super Retail is set to open 24 new brick-and-mortar stores in 2023 inclusive of more BCF Superstore and Rebel rCX store formats while also adapting more Supercheap Auto stores to the next-generation format said Heraghty.

This year Super Retail Group is aiming for a capex of $150 million to offset costs of the new stores, a new distribution centre estimated to cost $80 million, as well as improvements to its customer loyalty programs and digital investment.

According to Citi analysts Adrian Lemme and James Wang, despite group sales being somewhat less than predicted, cost management was outstanding, and the market will appreciate the company’s result and update.