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Fiji’s only supermarket listed on the stock exchange, RB Patel Group, has announced an operating profit of $5.68 million, an increase of 35% from last year, despite the negative growth in the Fiji economy.
RBG’s net sales for the year ended June 30, 2009 was $101.8 million with growth accredited to the new Nadi Jetpoint branch, RBG Director Surendra Patel said at the Brokers Briefing at the South Pacific Stock Exchange today.
The Jetpoint Supacentre in Nadi is deemed to be the biggest growth factor for the group with another piece of land earmarked in Suva for a similar project.
“The future looks more challenging because the outlook for our economic landscape remains weak and we expect competition to intensify,” he said.
Patel said the RBG was happy to be paying maximum dividends, totaling $4.2 million, this year.
Meanwhile, Fiji’s economy over the last three years has grown by negative 1.3 percent.
Patel admits that the supermarket chin had been operating in a “difficult” business environment, but still managed to prosper.
“This environment was shaped by three significant events - the flow on effect of the global financial recession, successive declines in the domestic economy and the devaluation of the dollar.”
“It was characterized by an overall fall in disposable income, rapid increase in prices and increasing competition,” he said.
Patel said the consumer’s buying power had decreased with sales volume becoming lower, so the company had to at times resort to cutting margins to get the benefits.
