Clicks Group Ltd S/Adr

Good afternoon and a warm welcome to the webcast of our annual results for the year end of 31 August 2023. I am Bettina Engelbrecht, Chief Executive Officer of the FIGS Group. Joining me here today is Gordon Trail, our Chief Financial Officer. We will be taking you through the presentation of our annual results and respond to your questions after the conclusion of our presentation. This slide sets out the outline we will follow. I will start with a review of our financial year. Gordon will follow with an overview of our financial results. Hereafter, I will take you through the trading performances of our business units, first Plex, then UPG. And I will close with the outlook for the group. Please submit any questions that you may have via the webcast platform during and after the conclusion of our presentation. Sue Hemp from our investor relations team will read out your questions to which Gordon and I will respond.

I will now commence with the review of the year.

Over the past 55 years of our existence, we faced unprecedented social, economic, and political changes, which tested the resilience of our business model and our people. Our sustained performance is a testament to the fact that we did not merely survive, we thrived. For the year, we delivered adjusted diluted headline earnings per share of 11.5% despite increased low chain. This result is ahead of market expectations. Our retail pharmacy team in particular demonstrated the value of focused alignment. We continue to invest for growth, and opened a net 45 new stores, which included three stores outside South Africa. We opened our 700th pharmacy in Paule, here in the Western Cape, and our 850th store in the new Ocean's Mall, Kuzulu-Natal. Customers responded favorably to our product and price offers, resulting in market share gains across every one of our retail categories. Our acquisitions closely align to our health and beauty focus areas. Sorbet, largest professional salon beauty business in South Africa, enhances our positioning as a destination for beauty amongst higher LSM customers. Enkim, a 24-hour specialized pharmacy, extends the convenience of our retail pharmacy offering and strengthens our healthcare credentials. 180 Degrees, a pharmacy software company, will enable us to offer an improved service experience to pharmacy customers. The UPD business had a tough year with the first half results impacted by the post systems implementation. The business delivered a much improved second half performance and is on track for recovery in the new financial year. This was a record year for capital investment to support our growth. We invested in our store and pharmacy network, supply chain and IT capability. The acquisitions I just referenced. Gordon will shortly provide more detail to you in this regard. The cataclysmic events of the last few years have reinforced the interconnectedness of people, planet and profit. We have fully integrated sustainability management in our planning processes. ESG metrics are applied as a downward modifier in our incentive schemes. Our inclusion in the FTSE for Good Index for the past seven years and our AA ESG rating from MSCI recognizes the progress we have made in advancing sustainability. Our investment in human capital development and collaborative shaping of an inclusive culture has seen us maintain our position as the top employer within the retail sector for the seventh consecutive year. We are advancing gender empowerment by focusing on improving gender representation at all levels, investing the tertiary education of women in health sciences, procurement from women-owned enterprises, and gender advocacy. Our leadership in this regard has been recognized in the Gender Mainstreaming Awards Africa, with us winning multiple awards. In progressing towards the goal of carbon neutrality, we are investing in solar battery storage. This will minimize our reliance on the national grid and reduce costs. In our communities, we are advancing access to healthcare through three national partnerships. Students on the Go, an initiative conceptualized by the WITS Student Representative Council and sponsored by Dr. Judy Chlamini, the WITS Chancellor, is aimed at ending period poverty. The Transnet Palapepa Clinic Train has a fantastic record of delivering healthcare to vulnerable rural communities. The positive impact of Dr. Imtiaz Suleiman and the gift of the givers extends beyond our national borders. We are honored to be of service at his request. I will now hand over to Gordon Trail, our CFO, who will take you through the group's financial results in more detail.