South African food services distributor Bidcorp reported fiscal 2026 trading profit of R13.8 billion, a 6.5% increase on a reported basis, as gross and trading margins expanded to 24.8% and 5.7% respectively. The group generated R7.0 billion in free cash flow, up from R1.6 billion a year earlier, while headline earnings per share rose 5.4% to 2,701.4 cents.
Revenue increased 2.8% to R242.2 billion, with constant-currency growth of 5.0%, as the company navigated subdued food inflation and GDP growth of 1.3–1.4% across its 31-country footprint. Trading margins reached a record 5.7%, up from 5.5% in fiscal 2025, while EBITDA margins expanded to 6.5% from 6.2%. Operating expenses remained controlled at 19.1% of revenue, with gross profit growth of 6.2% outpacing a 5.6% rise in constant-currency operating costs.
Dividends increased 6.9% to 1,240 cents per share, including a final payout of 625 cents. The group repurchased R1.1 billion of shares, contributing to total shareholder returns exceeding R5.2 billion, up from R3.8 billion in fiscal 2025. Net debt fell to R3.8 billion from R6.2 billion, lowering the net debt-to-equity ratio to 8.0% and net debt-to-EBITDA to 0.24 times.
Regional performance varied, with Europe leading growth at 5.5% revenue increase and a 14.4% rise in trading profit to R5.5 billion. The UK delivered 3.2% revenue growth and an 8.4% increase in trading profit to R2.7 billion, while Australasia saw a 0.4% reported revenue decline but maintained an industry-leading trading margin of 8.2%. Emerging markets reported a 0.6% revenue decline but grew 2.2% in constant currency.
Bidcorp’s balance sheet strengthened with shareholders’ equity at R47.5 billion and cash and equivalents of R11.8 billion, exceeding short-term debt of R5.0 billion. Liquidity headroom stood at R26.0 billion, while CapEx totaled R4.8 billion, including R1.6 billion for new capacity. Five acquisitions added 1.1% to revenue and 1.0% to trading profit at a cash cost of R0.8 billion.
The company’s e-commerce replatforming initiative, Project Kai, is progressing with AI-driven sales tools, predictive demand forecasting, and warehouse automation. Current trading in July and August indicates revenue growth of 6%, with profitability outpacing that pace. Management guided to FY2027 CapEx of 1.5–2.0% of revenue, targeting revenue growth of 5–6% in low-growth markets and annual gross margin improvements of 0.1–0.3%.
Bidcorp’s 10-year track record shows compound annual growth in total shareholder returns of 8%, HEPS growth of 10%, and dividend growth of 18%. Return on invested capital expanded to 16.8%, while cumulative free cash flow since listing reached R29.2 billion against R34.2 billion deployed in acquisitions and dividends.
