Super Retail Group reported FY23 EBIT growth of 10%. For the second-half EBIT dropped by 4%. Sales trends have held up well so far and the company has reduced its inventory. However, conditions are likely to be more challenging over the next year. As a result, profit margins will fall. The company will also have rising overheads and costs associated with its loyalty program in FY24e.

Inghams reported FY23 EBITDA growth of 36% on a pre AASB-16 basis. For the second-half, the EBITDA margin improved 260bp. Strong sales growth is price-driven and will support FY24e earnings. Production issues from FY22 are now resolved and volume growth should resume. Inghams is at the start of a multi-year recovery in EBITDA margins and it should achieve double-digit earnings growth.

Treasury Wines reported FY23 EBITS up 11%. The second-half rose by 6%. While the profit result was decent, the sales performance was poor, particularly in the Americas. Margin targets have largely been met and the company needs to kick start revenue growth from here. We expect revenue to rebound in 2H24e. The lower Australian dollar will represent a meaningful contribution to the achievement of “high single-digit” EBITS growth in FY24e.  The key share price driver remains an unwind of tariffs in China, which may happen within the next six months.

Endeavour Group reported FY23 sales up 2% and EBIT up 11%. The debate is whether the company can cut costs sufficiently to ensure profit margins do not fall in FY24e. The company faces cost growth of 7% on our estimates and sales growth is more likely to be 4%. While a combination of gross margin gains in its Retail division and some cost savings should help, we expect modest margin compression. Another headwind in FY24e will be higher net interest costs.

Bapcor reported strong FY23 revenue growth of 10% with EBITDA rising 3% for the full year. In the second-half sales grew 8% with EBITDA down 2%. Risks to Bapcor are focused on the impact of higher wages, plus increasing rent and overheads. The cost out program announced in November 2022 will help to mitigate these cost pressures. Bapcor enters FY24e with an improved inventory position after reporting a strong cash realisation in FY23. The sales growth trajectory is likely to soften from here as same store sales start to normalise.

JB Hi-Fi may have reported a solid FY23 result, but the second-half provides an indication of the challenges ahead. Its 2H23 sales fell 0.5% and EBIT was down 23%. We expect sales to drop 3.0% in FY24e with EBIT down 26%. The risk to gross margins is the key unknown from here in our view. Even though JB Hi-Fi’s inventory is clean, there is elevated inventory with some suppliers and retailers. We expect EBIT margins to revert to FY19 levels by FY25e. The prospects for capital management look slim given higher working capital and capex.

This is a chart pack for subscribers that has a wealth of information about Australian retail spending, the retail outlook, as well as factors that will impact retail profitability. This chart pack can be used for internal presentations. Please contact us for anything in Excel or PowerPoint form.

Australians saved a lot of money during COVID-19. They saved $246 billion more than usual in fact. Bank data shows that households have now started drawing on that savings buffer. Is this good news or bad news? Do all demographics have savings buffers? We use demographic data to answer these questions and find that all income groups (lowest to highest) have some buffers. Amongst age cohorts, the groups aged 25 or older have saved more. Younger people have few buffers. The excess savings will result in a gradual slowdown in retail spending, potentially milder than many fear. The impact of higher interest rates will hurt higher income households the most as they carry more debt relative to income. Those over 65 are net beneficiaries of higher rates. Given data on spending by demographics, liquor and food at-home are likely to outperform. Dining out and travel may suffer when higher income earners pull back on spending.

The decision by China to remove tariffs on barley is good news for Treasury Wine Estates. We place a 51% probability of wine tariffs being removed within the next six months. The upside to earnings could be 16% within 12 months and 32% over four years.

Australian retail sales increased 3.0% in June 2023. The notable swings for the month were a moderation in the sales decline for electronics but a sharper slowdown for fashion and department stores. The downturn is spreading to more categories and will continue through to late this calendar year. The data also reveals that retail volumes per capita declined by 3.4% in the June 2023 quarter. Elevated price inflation is propping up spending and will fade later this calendar year in non-food and by mid-2024 in food.