Staff Writer
Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited reported higher revenue for the financial year ended 28 February 2026, supported by stronger retail and wholesale trading, even as headline earnings declined due to investment spending and prior-year gains.
The group’s revenue increased by 9.3% to N$42.8 billion, driven by growth across its retail and wholesale divisions in an environment where consumers remained under financial pressure.
Dis-Chem operates multiple stores in Namibia, offering a wide range of health, wellness, and beauty products.
The stores are situated in Windhoek, Swakopmund, and Walvis Bay.
Retail revenue rose 9% to N$34 billion, supported by both internal supply to Dis-Chem stores and growth in external pharmacy clients.
Despite the top-line growth, earnings declined. Basic earnings per share fell 17.1% to 114.2 cents, while headline earnings per share dropped 17.3% to 113.7 cents.
The company attributed part of the decline to the absence of a once-off property gain recorded in the previous financial year. Excluding that gain, earnings still reflected a more moderate decline of about 11%.
The group declared a final dividend of 15.92 cents per share, bringing total dividends for the year to 45.34 cents, down 17.3% from the prior period.
Dis-Chem said its core retail operations performed strongly when adjusted for ecosystem investments and non-recurring costs, with core retail profit before tax rising 27.1%. Excluding these items, group profit before tax increased 20.1%.
A key feature of the results was continued heavy investment in the group’s healthcare “ecosystem” strategy, which aims to shift Dis-Chem from a traditional pharmacy retailer into an integrated healthcare provider.
During the period, the group invested N$330 million into initiatives such as its “X, bigly labs” innovation unit and Dis-Chem Life, as well as N$115 million in costs linked to retiring its legacy loyalty programme and launching the new Better Rewards platform.
The company said the investment is focused on building digital and data-driven capabilities, including personalised rewards, new healthcare funding products, and upgraded retail formats such as its “Health Hub” store design.
It expects these initiatives to begin generating net positive returns in the 2027 financial year.
Operationally, like-for-like retail sales grew 5.3%, while cost pressures remained contained, with like-for-like payroll costs rising 3.5%.
Total income for the group increased 9.6% to N$13.2 billion, with the overall margin slightly improving to 30.8%.
Retail margins strengthened to 31.1%, supported by improved gross margins and data-led promotional strategies, while wholesale margins remained stable.
