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HOMECHOICE INTERNATIONAL PLC - Unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2016

Release Date: 30/08/2016 09:00
Code(s): HIL     PDF:  
Wrap Text
Unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2016

HomeChoice International PLC
(Incorporated in Malta)
Registration number: C66099
JSE share code: HIL
ISIN: MT0000850108
("HIL" or "the group")

UNAUDITED RESULTS
for the six months ended 30 June 2016

- Revenue increased by 15,8% to R1 152 million
- Pan-African sales increased by 27,9% to 11,6% of total sales
- EBITDA increased by 15,5% to R310 million
- Cash generated from operations increased by 18,3% to R145 million
- Retail sales through digital channels increased 17,8% to 11,6% of total sales


OVERVIEW
HomeChoice International PLC (HIL) is an investment holding company incorporated in Malta 
and listed in the General Retailers sector on the JSE Limited. Through its operating 
subsidiaries, HomeChoice and FinChoice, the group sells innovative homewares, apparel, 
personal technology and loan products to the rapidly expanding mass middle-income market 
in southern Africa. 

HomeChoice is the largest home-shopping retailer in southern Africa and offers products 
through online channels, call centres, sales agent networks and mail order catalogues. 
The group's omni-channel home-shopping retail model and digital Financial Services 
business provide a strong platform for achieving its ambitions of becoming a pan-African 
retailer and financial services provider.

TRADING AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 
The consumer environment in southern Africa remains challenging for customers in the 
HomeChoice LSM 4 - 8 market where rising living costs are outpacing wage increases. 
The volatility of the Rand continues to impact all importers and, together with the 
drought, is creating inflationary pressures. 

The unsecured credit environment also remains constrained. The National Credit 
Regulator's (NCR) prescribed affordability assessment regulations introduced in 
September 2015 continue to negatively impact on access to credit, although consumers 
are benefiting from a reduction in the maximum prescribed interest rates introduced 
from May 2016. The regulations have required significant changes to business systems 
and processes across all channels, resulting in higher compliance costs. 

The regulations have also introduced an excessive administrative burden on customers 
to produce documentary proof of income. Formally employed customers find it inconvenient 
to provide the documentation, whilst informally employed customers often lack practical 
access to documentation proving their income. To ease this burden, the group has 
developed multiple channels for customers to submit documentation, and invested in 
staff training and customer engagement and education to improve her experience.

The affordability regulations have impacted both businesses through increased customer 
walkaways and lower credit acceptance, resulting in significant lost revenue.

Despite this challenging economic environment, the group has delivered good results 
for the six-month period:
                                                       30 Jun      30 Jun           %
                                                         2016        2015      change
Group                                         
Revenue                                      (Rm)       1 152         995        15,8
EBITDA                                       (Rm)         310         268        15,5
Operating profit                             (Rm)         280         255         9,8
Operating profit margin                       (%)        24,3        25,7           
Headline EPS                              (cents)       188,2       169,8        10,8
Cash generated from operations               (Rm)         145         123        18,3
NAV per share                             (cents)       1 816       1 571        15,6
                                        
Retail                                         
Revenue                                      (Rm)         875         762        14,9
Retail sales                                 (Rm)         579         499        16,2
Gross profit margin                           (%)        47,9        48,1           
EBITDA                                       (Rm)         172         155        11,1
                                        
Financial Services                                         
Loan disbursements                           (Rm)         583         542         7,4
Revenue                                      (Rm)         277         233        18,8
EBITDA                                       (Rm)         127         103        22,9

Group revenue increased by 15,8% to R1 152,2 million for the six-month period, with 
strong growth in Retail sales and Financial Services income. Group earnings before 
interest and tax (EBITDA) increased by a similar percentage to R310,1 million, 
reflecting the focus on driving operating efficiencies and cost control. This, as well 
as continual focus on cash collections, has resulted in cash generation from 
operations improving by 18,3% to R145,0 million.

Operating profit increased by 9,8% to R280,4 million. The decrease in operating margin 
from 25,7% to 24,3% was driven by a doubling of depreciation and amortisation costs 
from R13,6 million to R27,8 million. Over the last three years the group made significant 
investments in its technology platforms which were brought on-stream late in 2015. 
Furthermore, in December 2015 the estimated useful life of software was revised, 
which has impacted the amortisation on a comparable basis. 

Headline earnings for the period increased by 11,6% to R191,8 million, with headline 
earnings per share (HEPS) up 10,8% to 188,2 cents. 

RETAIL PERFORMANCE
Retail revenue increased 14,9% to R875,2 million for the six-month period. Retail sales 
increased by 16,2% to R579,2 million, reflecting the benefits of product innovation and 
range development, particularly in the core bedding ranges which have seen strong 
volume growth. The Retail business has recently introduced branded electronics and 
appliances to complement its existing own label ranges, which are performing well. 

Finance charges and initiation fees increased by 12,2% to R258,3 million and were 
impacted by the lowering of the interest rate caps in May 2016 and introduction of a 
revolving credit facility which earns lower interest rates. The business has actively 
marketed the lower cost of credit to customers and she has responded positively.

The gross profit margin has been well managed considering Rand volatility declining 
by only 20 basis points from 48,1% to 47,9%. Over 90% of merchandise is imported and 
US Dollar denominated. After the sharp devaluation of the Rand in December 2015, the 
currency's performance against the US Dollar has remained volatile. The impact of 
Rand weakness was limited by selective price increases, enhanced operating efficiencies 
across the supply chain and continuing to reconfigure product offers to ensure products 
remain affordable.

Retail operating profit increased by 2,0% to R145,0 million and was impacted by higher 
debtor costs from customer acquisition and amortisation and depreciation doubling from 
R12,5 million to R25,0 million. Other trading expenses were well controlled, increasing 
by 12,3% for the six-month period. Operating profit, excluding the impact of amortisation 
and depreciation, increased by 9,9% over the period.

Digital remains the fastest-growing sales channel and we continue to see migration from 
web-based transactions to mobi. Strong customer engagement through digital platforms has 
resulted in sales via digital channels increasing 17,8% for the six-month period, 
and represents 11,6% of sales. Sales into neighbouring African markets have also
shown strong growth of 27,9% for the period to 11,6% of total sales. Further expansion 
into Africa remains a strong growth opportunity over the medium term.

The Retail business continues to build its omni-channel capability and is gaining good 
learnings from its first "bricks and mortar" showroom which opened in Wynberg, 
Cape Town at the end of 2015. Our home delivery capability continues to be expanded 
and has reduced our reliance on the SA Post Office further. The more convenient home 
delivery service has also reduced merchandise return rates from customers.

Customers continue to respond well to our product and marketing offers and the 
customer base has increased by 5,3% over the six-month period to 674 000.

FINANCIAL SERVICES PERFORMANCE
Revenue increased by 18,8% to R277,1 million for the six-month-period. EBITDA grew by 
22,9% to R127,0 million, arising from the growing profitability of the insurance business. 

Loan disbursements to customers increased by 7,4% to R583,2 million. The slowing 
disbursement growth is a result of the lower acceptance rates from the new affordability 
process, in particular first-time loan customers. As a result, loans to existing 
customers of good standing increased from 73,4% to 79,9% of total disbursements over 
the period. The transition for customers to adapt to the new affordability and 
documentation process changes remains challenging; however we continually look to 
enhance system processes and customer education to ensure the customer experience is 
as simple as possible. 

Within the context of moderate disbursement growth the customer base has increased by 
1,5% to 135 000 from December 2015. The average term in the FinChoice book is 20,7 months 
(December 2015: 20,2 months) and average balance is R9 556 (December 2015: R8 792), 
both well below the market averages, reflecting Financial Services' strategy of focusing 
on shorter terms and lower loan values. Sales of personal funeral cover to loan 
customers are showing encouraging growth. To off-set the margin reduction resulting 
from the interest cap lowering, a credit life product was introduced to short-term 
loan customers from May.

The KwikServe@ platform continues to service 80% of our existing customers via her 
cell phone, while our mobi platform has grown to serve one-quarter of the customer 
base as she adopts smartphone technology. Digital self-service accounts for 69% of 
FinChoice's repeat loan transactions. The proportion of Rands disbursed via digital 
has reduced marginally from 40,2% to 39,1% due to the introduction of new regulatory 
processes unfamiliar to the customer. Significant focus has been applied to simplify 
these new processes for self-service to encourage her digital engagement and continue 
growing this channel further.

MANAGING CREDIT RISK
The group continues to trade in a difficult credit environment where economic growth 
rates are low, unemployment is increasing and consumers remain constrained in their 
ability to repay debt. Against this backdrop, the group continues to apply strict 
credit criteria, sound debtors' management and consistent conservative provisioning 
policies. 

Credit performance for the period is summarised as follows:
                                                       30 Jun      30 Jun           %
                                                         2016        2015      change
Group                                         
Gross trade and loans receivable (Rm)                   2 257       1 924        17,3
Debtor costs as % of revenue (%)                         18,9        18,5           
                                        
Retail                                         
Gross trade receivables (Rm)                            1 231       1 079        14,0
Debtor costs as % of revenue (%)                         15,7        14,5           
Provision for impairment as % of gross receivables (%)   19,0        18,7           
Non-performing loans (>120 days) (%)                      8,9         9,0          
                                        
Financial Services                                         
Gross loans receivable (Rm)                             1 026         845        21,4
Debtor costs as % of revenue (%)                         29,0        31,7           
Provision for impairment as % of gross receivables (%)   16,3        16,9           
Non-performing loans (>120 days) (%)                      4,6         4,6          

Group debtor cost growth of 18,1% is higher than revenue growth and has been driven 
by the increase in new Retail customer acquisition during the past six months and 
challenges in late stage collections impacted by the high volume of debt activities 
in the market. The introduction of television as an acquisition channel generated 
good demand but at higher risk levels than planned. The Retail business has responded 
by tightening credit acceptance criteria, implementing changes to collection 
strategies and increasing the use of external debt collection agencies. Provisions 
have been increased to 19,0% from 18,7% at December 2015 to cover the higher levels 
of new business.

FinChoice benefits from marketing products to creditworthy Retail customers, which has 
enabled the business to deliver stable levels of credit performance. Debtor costs in 
the Financial Services business reduced as a percentage of revenue from 29,9% in 2015 
to 29,0% for the six-month period. The impairment provision was reduced marginally to 
16,3% at June 2016 (December 2015: 16,6%). Conservative provisions held on the debt 
review portfolio should reduce over time as the Group has greater payment history.

CASH AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
The group remains highly cash generative and has increased cash generated from 
operations by 18,3% to R145,0 million through efficient management of working capital, 
which increased 11,0% to R163,9 million. Cash conversion (cash generated from 
operations as a percentage of EBITDA) improved from 45,7% to 46,8% over the period.

Over the last five years the group has made significant investment in property, 
constructing a centralised distribution centre and developing a new 1 000-seat call 
centre and Retail showroom. Capital expenditure of R27,7 million for the six months 
is significantly lower than previous years (June 2015: R79,7 million) and was mainly 
focused on investments in the group's technology systems. 

The net debt to equity ratio has increased from 26,2% at December 2015 to 27,8% but 
remains comfortably within management's targeted range of below 40,0%. The financial 
position of the group remains strong, with net asset value increasing by 15,6% to 
1 816 cents per share from June 2015.

DIVIDENDS
The directors intend to declare an interim dividend payable in November 2016 of 
71 cents per share (2015: 64 cents per share), which represents a dividend cover 
of 2,6 times. The details of the declaration will be communicated on SENS in due course.

OUTLOOK
The trading environment is expected to remain largely unchanged for the remainder of 
the financial year, with continued financial pressure on consumers and increasing 
compliance headwinds in the changing regulatory landscape. In this environment tight 
credit policies will be maintained, with cash collections and cost control remaining 
key focus areas.
 
The Retail business has experienced good demand during the first eight weeks of trading, 
with customers responding well to the new revolving credit facility. The Financial 
Services business is continuing to streamline the impact of the affordability 
regulations on customers. The group will also continue to mitigate the impact of the 
reduction in maximum interest rates on credit contracts which came into effect from 
May 2016.
 
The group's experienced management team and focused strategies for growth continue 
to position the business to take advantage of opportunities in both the South African 
and pan-African markets.

The above information has not been reviewed or reported on by the group's external auditor.


GROUP STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
                                           Notes    Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited
                                                     Jun 2016    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000       R'000       R'000
Assets                                        
Non-current assets                                        
Property, plant and equipment                         428 602     344 366     422 243 
Intangible assets                                      95 438     112 247     101 928 
Loans to employees                                          -         367         207 
Investment in associates                               18 989      11 231      13 248 
Deferred taxation                                      29 216      20 941      25 708 
                                                      572 245     489 152     563 334 
                                        
Current assets                                        
Inventories                                           251 078     227 681     170 391 
Taxation receivable                                    14 269      18 812       4 271 
Trade and other receivables                    2    1 874 735   1 590 779   1 787 273 
Trade receivables - Retail                            997 038     877 114     982 061 
Loans receivable - Financial Services                 858 879     702 431     790 575 
Other receivables                                      18 818      11 234      14 637 
Cash and cash equivalents                              95 119      99 811      88 300 
                                                    2 235 201   1 937 083   2 050 235 
Total assets                                        2 807 446   2 426 235   2 613 569 
                                        
Equity and liabilities                                        
Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent                          
Stated and share capital                                1 035       1 022       1 025 
Share premium                                       2 998 296   2 985 262   2 987 580 
Reorganisation reserve                             (2 960 639) (2 960 639) (2 960 639)
                                                       38 692      25 645      27 966 
Treasury shares                                        (2 666)     (2 666)     (2 666)
Other reserves                                          5 144       3 722       4 502 
Retained earnings                                   1 827 818   1 564 172   1 721 626 
                                                    1 868 988   1 590 873   1 751 428 
                                        
Non-current liabilities                                        
Interest-bearing liabilities                          241 835     272 044     164 324 
Deferred taxation                                     116 913     107 522     112 282 
Other payables                                          4 585       3 855       5 070 
                                                      363 333     383 421     281 676 
Current liabilities                                        
Interest-bearing liabilities                          138 775      34 159     221 102 
Taxation payable                                        1 074       1 017          18 
Trade and other payables                              195 678     183 361     184 550 
Provisions                                              6 000       6 334      12 357 
Bank overdraft                                         76 531      67 239       1 780 
Shareholder loan                                      157 067     159 831     160 658 
                                                      575 125     451 941     580 465 
Total liabilities                                     938 458     835 362     862 141 
Total equity and liabilities                        2 807 446   2 426 235   2 613 569


GROUP STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
                                           Notes    Unaudited               Unaudited     Audited
                                                   six months              six months        year
                                                        ended                   ended       ended
                                                     Jun 2016           %    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000      change       R'000       R'000
Revenue                                             1 152 247        15,8     995 179   2 232 967
Retail sales                                          579 189        16,2     498 635   1 197 131
Finance charges and initiation fees earned            480 939        14,0     421 981     893 722
Finance charges earned                                354 753        15,2     308 077     652 083
Initiation fees earned                                126 186        10,8     113 904     241 639
Fees from ancillary services                           92 119        23,5      74 563     142 114
Cost of retail sales                                 (296 757)       16,9    (253 903)   (590 010)
Debtor costs                                   3     (217 857)       18,1    (184 418)   (397 469)
Other trading expenses                         3     (359 833)       18,9    (302 715)   (666 913)
Other net gains and losses                              1 190                    (176)     (1 873)
Other income                                            1 416                   1 410       3 692
Operating profit                                      280 406         9,8     255 377     580 394
Interest received                                       1 658                   1 033       3 375
Interest paid                                         (27 590)                (14 825)    (32 809)
Share of profit/(loss) of associates                    1 834                    (493)     (1 137)
Profit before taxation                                256 308                 241 092     549 823
Taxation                                              (64 474)                (69 239)   (155 264)
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period  191 834        11,6     171 853     394 559
                                                                      
Profit for the period                                 191 834                 171 853     394 559
Non-headline items, gross of tax effect
Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment 
  and intangible assets                                     -                       -         404
Tax effect                                                  -                       -        (113)
Headline earnings for the period                      191 834        11,6     171 853     394 850
                                                                      
Earnings per share (cents)                     4
Basic                                                   188,2                   169,8       388,9
Diluted                                                 186,3                   168,8       382,1
                                                                      
Additional information                                                                      
Retail gross profit margin (%)                           48,8                    49,1        50,7
                                                                      
The Retail gross profit margin percentage has been calculated as retail sales less 
cost of retail sales, divided by retail sales.


GROUP STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
                                                    Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited
                                                   six months  six months        year
                                                        ended       ended       ended
                                                     Jun 2016    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000       R'000       R'000
Equity at the beginning of the period               1 751 428   1 578 326   1 578 326 
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period  191 834     171 853     394 559 
Dividends paid                                        (85 643)   (163 062)   (228 314)
Shares issued under share option scheme: 
  share capital and share premium                      10 727       3 064       5 385
Share option scheme                                       642         692       1 472 
Equity at the end of the period                     1 868 988   1 590 873   1 751 428 


GROUP STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
                                           Notes    Unaudited               Unaudited     Audited
                                                   six months              six months        year
                                                        ended                   ended       ended
                                                     Jun 2016           %    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000      change       R'000       R'000
Cash flows from operating activities                                                  
Operating cash flows before working capital changes   308 886        14,3     270 225     636 923 
Movement in working capital                          (163 863)               (147 650)   (278 434)
Cash generated from operations                 5      145 023        18,3     122 575     358 489 
Interest received                                       1 658                   1 033       3 375 
Interest paid                                         (27 496)                (14 825)    (31 483)
Taxation paid                                         (72 293)                (65 006)   (137 495)
Net cash inflow from operating activities              46 892         7,1      43 777     192 886
                                                  
Cash flows from investing activities                                                  
Purchase of property, plant and equipment             (17 285)                (52 976)   (140 434)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant 
  and equipment                                             -                       -         377 
Purchase of intangible assets                         (10 405)                (26 725)    (46 819)
Loans repaid by employees                                 207                     936       1 095 
Investment in associates                               (3 927)                 (4 096)     (6 709)
Net cash outflow from investing activities            (31 410)       62,1     (82 861)   (192 490)
                                                  
Cash flows from financing activities                                                  
Proceeds from issuance of shares                       10 727                   3 064       5 385 
Proceeds from interest-bearing liabilities             14 636                 187 322     279 464 
Repayments of interest-bearing liabilities            (23 134)                (18 240)    (32 983)
Dividends paid                                        (85 643)               (163 062)   (228 314)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities   (83 414)   (1 018,3)      9 084      23 552 
                                                  
Net (decrease)/increase in cash, cash equivalents 
  and bank overdrafts                                (67 932)                 (30 000)     23 948 
Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdrafts at the 
  beginning of the period                              86 520                  62 572      62 572 
Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdrafts at the 
  end of the period                                    18 588       (42,9)     32 572      86 520


STATISTICS
                                                     Jun 2016    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
Profitability                                        
Growth in revenue                               (%)      15,8        15,6        14,0 
Retail gross profit margin                      (%)      48,8        49,1        50,7 
Operating profit margin                         (%)      24,3        25,7        26,0 
Earnings beforE interest, tax, 
  depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)     ('000)   310 062     268 485     632 187 
Growth in EBITDA                                (%)      15,5        12,0        16,7 
EBITDA margin                                   (%)      26,9        27,0        28,3 
                                        
Solvency and liquidity                                        
Net asset value per share                   (cents)   1 816,3     1 571,4     1 719,3 
Growth in net asset value                       (%)       5,6         0,7        10,2 
Inventory turn                              (times)       2,8         2,6         3,7 
Net debt/equity ratio                           (%)      27,8        27,2        26,2 
                                        
Performance                                        
Growth in trade receivables - Retail            (%)       1,5         1,3        13,5 
Growth in loans receivable - Financial Services (%)       8,6        13,0        27,1 
Growth in cash generated from operations        (%)      18,3        26,6        53,5 
Cash conversion                                 (%)      46,8        45,7        56,7 
Return on equity - annualised                   (%)      21,2        21,7        23,7 
                                        
Shareholding                                        
Number of shares ('000)                              
- In issue, net of treasury shares                    102 900     101 601     101 866 
- Weighted shares in issue, net of treasury shares    101 931     101 236     101 468 
- Diluted weighted average                            102 954     101 812     103 263 
                                        
Earnings per share (cents)                                        
- basic                                                 188,2       169,8       388,9 
- diluted                                               186,3       168,8       382,1 
- headline earnings (HEPS)                              188,2       169,8       389,1 
- diluted HEPS                                          186,3       168,8       382,4 
                                        
In May 2016 the final dividend for the 2015 financial year of R85,6 million (84 cents 
per share) was paid to shareholders.

In June 2015 the interim and final dividends for the 2014 financial year of R163,1 million 
(161 cents per share) were paid to shareholders.


GROUP SEGMENTAL ANALYSIS
Six months ended 30 June
                                                    Financial                             Elimin-
                                           Retail    Services    Property       Other      ations        Total
                                            R'000       R'000       R'000       R'000       R'000        R'000
2016 - Unaudited                                                            
Segmental revenue                         875 156     277 091      26 011           -           -    1 178 258 
Retail sales                              579 189           -           -           -           -      579 189 
Finance charges and initiation 
  fees earned                             258 261     222 678           -           -           -      480 939 
Fees from ancillary services               37 706      54 413      26 011           -           -      118 130 
Intersegment revenue                            -           -     (26 011)          -           -      (26 011)
Revenue from external customers           875 156     277 091           -           -           -    1 152 247 
                                                            
Segmental results*                        145 002     108 270      14 992         176           -      268 440 
Segmental results margin (%)                 16,6        39,1                                             22,8 
Growth in segmental results (%)               2,0        23,9         3,3                                  6,8 
Segmental assets**                      1 548 386     933 891     340 151      19 935     (34 917)   2 807 446 
Segmental liabilities**                   413 437      41 318     251 979     264 311     (32 587)     938 458 
Operating cash flows before 
  working capital changes                 170 584     126 329      15 629      (3 656)          -      308 886 
Movement in working capital              (106 058)    (61 516)       (824)      4 535           -     (163 863)
Cash generated from operations             64 526      64 813      14 805         879           -      145 023 
                                                            
Gross profit margin (%)                      47,9                                                         48,8
                                                            
2015 - Unaudited                                                            
Segmental revenue                         761 993     233 186      15 450           -           -    1 010 629 
Retail sales                              498 635           -           -           -           -      498 635 
Finance charges and initiation 
  fees earned                             230 179     191 802           -           -           -      421 981 
Fees from ancillary services               33 179      41 384      15 450           -           -       90 013 
Intersegment revenue                            -           -     (15 450)          -           -      (15 450)
Revenue from external customers           761 993     233 186           -           -           -      995 179 
                                                            
Segmental results*                        142 212      87 391      14 519       8 908      (1 633)     251 397 
Segmental results margin (%)                 18,7        37,5                                             24,9 
Growth in segmental results (%)               8,3        19,7        14,7                                  9,1 
Segmental assets**                      1 370 081     776 447     274 899      17 286     (12 478)   2 426 235 
Segmental liabilities**                   362 757      35 985     171 418     268 202      (3 000)     835 362 
Operating cash flows before 
  working capital changes                 155 312     103 582      15 155      (2 745)     (1 079)     270 225 
Movement in working capital               (65 937)    (72 353)     (6 265)     (3 146)         51     (147 650)
Cash generated/(utilised) from operations  89 375      31 229       8 890      (5 891)     (1 028)     122 575 
                                                            
Gross profit margin (%)                       48,1                                                        49,1
                                                            
*   The chief operating decision-maker monitors the results of the business segments 
    separately for the purposes of making decisions about resources to be allocated and 
    of assessing performance. They assess the performance of Retail and Property segments 
    based upon a measure of operating profit and Financial Services and Other segments 
    based on a measure of operating profit after interest received and interest paid.
**  Excluding group loans.

RECONCILIATION OF SEGMENTAL RESULTS                             Unaudited   Unaudited
                                                                 Jun 2016    Jun 2015
                                                                    R'000       R'000
Segmental results as reported above                               268 440     251 397 
Interest received                                                     957         414 
Interest paid                                                     (14 923)    (10 226)
Share of profit/(loss) of associates                                1 834        (493)
Profit before tax                                                 256 308     241 092


NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1.  BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES
    The condensed consolidated interim financial statements are prepared in accordance 
    with International Financial Reporting Standard, IAS 34, Interim Financial Reporting, 
    the SAICA Financial Reporting Guides as issued by the Accounting Practices Committee 
    and Financial Pronouncements as issued by the Financial Reporting Standards Council 
    and the requirements of the Maltese Companies Act. The accounting policies applied 
    in the preparation of these interim financial statements are in terms of International 
    Financial Reporting Standards and are consistent with those applied in the previous 
    consolidated annual financial statements.

2.  TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES
                                                    Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited
                                                   six months  six months        year
                                                        ended       ended       ended
                                                     Jun 2016    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000       R'000       R'000
    Trade receivables - Retail                      1 230 533   1 079 083   1 208 631 
    Provision for impairment                         (233 495)   (201 969)   (226 570)
                                                      997 038     877 114     982 061 
    Loans receivable - Financial Services           1 026 101     845 340     947 586 
    Provision for impairment                         (167 222)   (142 909)   (157 011)
                                                      858 879     702 431     790 575 
    Other receivables                                  18 818      11 234      14 637 
    Trade and other receivables                     1 874 735   1 590 779   1 787 273 
    Trade and loan receivables                      2 256 634   1 924 423   2 156 217 
    Provision for impairment                         (400 717)   (344 878)   (383 581)
    Other receivables                                  18 818      11 234      14 637 
    Movements in the provision for impairment 
      were as follows:                              
    Retail                              
    Opening balance                                  (226 570)   (198 179)   (198 179)
    Movement in provision                              (6 925)     (3 790)    (28 391)
    Debtor costs charged to profit and loss          (137 458)   (110 414)   (254 374) 
    Debts written off during the year, 
      net of recoveries                               130 533     106 624     225 983
    Closing balance                                  (233 495)   (201 969)   (226 570)
                                        
    Financial Services                              
    Opening balance                                  (157 011)   (127 103)   (127 103)
    Movement in provision                             (10 211)    (15 806)    (29 908)
    Debtor costs charged to profit and loss           (80 399)    (74 004)   (143 095) 
    Debts written off during the year, 
      net of recoveries                                70 188      58 198     113 187
    Closing balance                                  (167 222)   (142 909)   (157 011)
                                        
    Retail                              
    Debtor costs as a % of revenue (%)                   15,7        14,5        14,5 
    Debtor costs as a % of gross receivables
     (annualised) (%)                                    22,3        20,5        21,0 
    Provision for impairment as a % of gross 
      receivables (%)                                    19,0        18,7        18,7

    Financial Services                              
    Debtor costs as % of revenue (%)                     29,0        31,7        29,9 
    Debtor costs as a % of gross receivables 
      (annualised) (%)                                   15,7        17,5        15,1 
    Provision for impairment as a % of gross 
      receivables (%)                                    16,3        16,9        16,6 
                                        
    Group                              
    Debtor costs as % of revenue (%)                     18,9        18,5        17,8 
    Debtor costs as a % of gross receivables 
      (annualised) (%)                                   19,3        19,2        18,4 
    Provision for impairment as a % of gross 
      receivables (%)                                    17,8        17,9        17,8 
                                        
    Non-performing trade and loan receivables, being accounts 120 days or more in 
    arrears, as a percentage of the trade and loan receivable books were as follows 
    at the reporting dates:                              
    Retail (%)                                            8,9         9,0         9,5 
    Financial Services (%)                                4,6         4,6         4,6

3.  DEBTORS COST AND OTHER TRADING EXPENSES                              
                                                    Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited
                                                   six months  six months        year
                                                        ended       ended       ended
                                                     Jun 2016    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000       R'000       R'000
    Expenses by nature                              
    Debtor costs                              
    Trade receivables - Retail                        137 458     110 414     254 374 
    Loans receivable - Financial Services              80 399      74 004     143 095 
    Total debtor costs                                217 857     184 418     397 469 
    Amortisation of intangible assets                  16 895       5 603      34 583 
    Depreciation of property, plant and equipment      10 926       7 997      18 347 
    Operating lease charges for immovable property        665         996       2 091 
    Total operating lease charges                       2 105       2 146       4 424 
    Less: disclosed under cost of Retail sales         (1 440)     (1 150)     (2 333)
    Marketing costs                                    92 320      82 751     180 855 
    Staff costs                                       142 189     120 319     264 115 
    Total staff costs                                 158 740     138 203     300 380 
    Less: disclosed under cost of Retail sales        (10 243)     (9 471)    (17 950)
    Less: staff costs capitalised to intangible assets (6 308)     (8 413)    (18 315)
    Other costs                                        96 838      85 049     166 922 
    Total other trading expenses                      359 833     302 715     666 913 
                                                      577 690     487 133   1 064 382 
                                        

4.  BASIC AND HEADLINE EARNINGS
    The calculation of basic and headline earnings per share is based upon profit for 
    the year attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average 
    number of ordinary shares in issue as follows:
                                                    Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited
                                                   six months  six months        year
                                                        ended       ended       ended
                                                     Jun 2016    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000       R'000       R'000
    Profit for the period                             191 834     171 853     394 559 
    Adjusted for the after-tax effect of:                              
    Loss on disposal of property, plant and 
      equipment and intangible assets                       -           -         288 
    Impairment of disposal of property, plant 
      and equipment                                                               116 
    Tax effect                                              -           -        (113)
    Headline earnings for the period                  191 834     171 853     394 850

5.  RECONCILIATION OF CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATIONS                              
                                                    Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited
                                                   six months  six months        year
                                                        ended       ended       ended
                                                     Jun 2016    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000       R'000       R'000
    Profit before taxation                            256 308     241 092     549 823 
    Share of (profit)/loss of associates               (1 834)        493       1 137 
    Loss on disposal of property, plant and 
      equipment and intangible assets                       -            -        288 
    Depreciation and amortisation                      27 821      13 600      52 930 
    Share-based employee service expense                  659         732       1 472 
    Interest paid                                      26 212      14 825      32 809 
    Interest received                                  (1 658)     (1 033)     (3 375)
    Capitalised bond costs - amortised 
      cost adjustment                                   1 378         516       1 839 
    Operating cash flows before working 
      capital changes                                 308 886     270 225     636 923 
    Movements in working capital                     (163 863)   (147 650)   (278 434)
    Increase in inventories                           (80 687)    (61 318)     (4 028)
    Increase in trade receivables - Retail            (14 977)    (11 648)   (116 595)
    Increase in loans receivable - Financial Services (68 304)    (80 627)   (168 771)
    (Increase)/decrease in other receivables           (4 181)      6 269       2 866 
    Increase in trade and other payables               10 643      24 418      26 815 
    Decrease in provisions                             (6 357)    (24 744)    (18 721)
                                                      145 023     122 575     358 489

6.  PURCHASE OF PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS
    Included in the prior reporting period's purchase of property, plant and equipment 
    and intangible assets is the capitalisation of R19,1 million of costs relating to 
    the ERP system implementation, as well as R41,3 million relating to the construction 
    of the new call centre and showroom.

7.  CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
    The group had no contingent liabilities at the reporting date.

8.  RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS AND BALANCES
    Related party transactions similar to those disclosed in the group's annual financial 
    statements for the year ended 31 December 2015 took place during the period and 
    related party balances are existing at the reporting date. Related party transactions 
    include key management personnel compensation, loan to directors and intragroup 
    transactions which have been eliminated on consolidation. 

    The group entered into a loan agreement with its shareholder, GFM Limited, 
    in May 2015. The loan carries interest at the South African prime interest rate 
    and is repayable in 2017.

9.  EVENTS AFTER THE REPORTING DATE
    No event material to the understanding of this interim report has occurred between 
    the end of the interim period and the date of approval of these interim results.

10. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
    The carrying amounts reported in the statement of financial position approximate 
    fair values. Discounted cash flow models are used for trade and loan receivables. 
    The discount yields in these models use calculated rates that reflect the return a 
    market participant would expect to receive on instruments with similar remaining 
    maturities, cash flow patterns, credit risk, collateral and interest rates. 

11. SEASONALITY
    Due to its seasonal nature, the Retail business has a history of generating higher 
    revenues during the second half of the year. In the financial year ended 
    31 December 2015, 42% of retail sales accumulated in the first half of the year, 
    with 58% accumulating in the second half.

12. PREPARATION AND REVIEW OF INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
    These interim financial statements were prepared by the group's finance department, 
    acting under the supervision of P Burnett, CA(SA), finance director of the group.

    The interim results have not been reviewed or audited by our auditors, 
    PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc.

13. ESTIMATES
    In preparing these condensed interim financial statements, the significant judgements 
    made by management in applying the group's accounting policies and the key sources 
    of estimation uncertainty were the same as those that applied to the consolidated 
    financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2015.

14. GROUP SEGMENTAL ANALYSIS
    The group's operating segments are identified as being Retail, Financial Services, 
    Property and Other. Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the 
    internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision-maker, being HomeChoice 
    International PLC's executive directors. The group's reportable segments are 
    unchanged from the previous reporting date.

    Retail consists mainly of the group's HomeChoice and FoneChoice operations, 
    whereas Financial Services represents the group's FinChoice operations. The group's 
    property companies, which own commercial properties utilised mainly within the group, 
    are included in the Property segment. The Other segment relates mainly to the holding 
    company's stand-alone results, as well as those of its associates.

    The chief operating decision-maker monitors the results of the business segments 
    separately for the purposes of making decisions about resources to be allocated 
    and of assessing performance. They assess the performance of Retail and Property 
    segments based upon a measure of operating profit and Financial Services and Other 
    segments based on a measure of operating profit after interest received and interest paid.

15. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS FOR PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS
                                                    Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited
                                                   six months  six months        year
                                                        ended       ended       ended
                                                     Jun 2016    Jun 2015    Dec 2015
                                                        R'000       R'000       R'000
    Approved by the directors                          16 474      44 232      50 568 
    Approved by the directors and contracted for            -      36 250           - 
                                                       16 474      80 482      50 568


Registered office: 93 Mill Street, Qormi, QRM3102, Republic of Malta
Transfer secretaries: Computershare Investor Services (Proprietary) Limited, 
70 Marshall Street, Johannesburg, 2001
PO Box 61051, Marshalltown, 2107
Auditors: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Republic of Malta
Corporate bank: Deutsche Bank International Limited, Channel Islands
Sponsor: Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited
Company secretary: George Said
Directors: S Portelli* (Chairman), G Lartigue*** (Chief Executive Officer), P Burnett*** 
(Financial Director), A Chorn*, R Garratt**, E Gutierrez-Garcia**, R Hain*, S Maltz***, C Rapa* 
* Independent non-executive ** Non-executive *** Executive

There have been no changes to directors or company secretary appointments during the period.

www.homechoiceinternational.com

30 August 2016


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