The Australian arm of South African retail company The Foschini Group (TFG) has reported a sales contraction for both the fourth quarter and full year ended March 31, 2026, as tough trading conditions continued to pressure the business.
TFG Australia – which includes the likes of Tarocash, YD and Johnny Big – recorded a sales decline of 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to the prior corresponding period, and fell 1.5 per cent for the full year in Australian dollar terms. On a like-for-like basis, sales declined 3.4 per cent for FY2026.
The group attributed the result to consumers remaining value-oriented amid ongoing difficult trading conditions.
TFG Australia contributed 13.3 per cent to group turnover in Q4 FY26, and 13.5 per cent for the full year.
The underperformance of the Australian business also contributed to a broader impairment, with TFG recording a combined non-cash impairment of brand values – including Tarocash and YD – totalling approximately R750 million (~A$63 million) net of tax across its London and Australia segments.
The weaker trade in the Australian and London segments in the final quarter, combined with higher interest and IFRS 16 costs, further impacted the decline in headline earnings per share beyond the group's underlying operating profit result.
IFRS 16 is the accounting standard that requires retailers to record store leases on their balance sheets, a treatment that increases reported costs for businesses with large physical store networks. TFG operates 39 retail brands with 4,900 physical locations globally. In Australia, where the business is operated under Retail Apparel Group, TFG has over 560 stores.
At a group level, headline earnings per share for the year ended March 31, 2026 is expected to land between 609.4 and 710.9 cents, representing a decline of 30 per cent to 40 per cent on the prior year's 1,015.6 cents. Earnings per share is expected to decline between 55 per cent and 65 per cent.
Despite pressures in Australia and London, TFG's largest market in Africa, which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of total sales, saw revenue lifts of 7.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, and 5 per cent in the full-year.
TFG's full year financial results are expected to be released on or about June 5, 2026.