Super Group, the South Africa-headquartered logistics and mobility solutions group operating across sub-Saharan Africa, UK, Europe, and Australasia, has demonstrated its financial stability and commitment to shareholder value with a 60 cents per share final dividend.
The company has also implemented a revised long-term incentive share scheme for executives following shareholder feedback.
Super Group chairman Valentine Chitalu, in the integrated report released yesterday, expressed confidence in their ability to adapt to volatile conditions and achieve its long-term goals, despite challenging environments in its operating markets.
The dividend payout reflects this optimism and the company's strong financial position.
Following insufficient shareholder support for remuneration policies at the last annual general meeting, Super Group has introduced a new Conditional Share Plan (CSP) scheme. This plan, to be implemented in the year to June 30, 2025, incorporates: headline earnings per share growth (45% weighting), Investment return measures (45% weighting), and ESG which measures focused on social and environmental matters (10% weighting)
The existing long-term share incentive (LTI) scheme ceased operation at the end of December 2023, and the Deferred Share Plan (DSP) scheme was also discontinued.
Referring to the changed incentive structure, they said the previous LTI component “is too narrowly constructed in the form of a SARS scheme that has a single prospective performance condition, namely growth in HEPS over a three-year measurement period.”
CEO Peter Mountford’s remuneration (excluding equity awards) increased by 9.4% to R24.69 million from R22.55m. CFO Colin Brown saw a 12.2% increase to R11.28m from R10.05m.
The remuneration committee said they continue to engage with shareholders to address concerns and gain support for its policies. They said remuneration within Super Group was “fair, free of discrimination, transparent, and competitive” in the markets where the group operates.
The changes to the long term incentive structure for executives follow the last annual general meeting in November 2023, where support for the remuneration policy and implementation report was only 50.01% and 60.79%, respectively, not enough shareholder support to approve the two meeting resolutions.
“It is concerning that despite addressing the comprehensive feedback and input received from shareholders about the 2022 advisory vote, a significant shareholder voted against the 2023 remuneration policy and implementation report. This shareholder accounted for 83.94% of the total negative votes recorded in 2023 concerning the remuneration policy and implementation report.”
CEO Peter Mountford highlighted the group's focus on technology-enabled solutions and digitalisation, to drive market gains, efficiency, and enhance decision-making. He said they were optimistic about potential interest rate cuts and moderating inflation easing cost-of-living pressures on consumers in most of its operating geographies.
However, the company anticipates continued macroeconomic headwinds in Germany and infrastructural challenges within Southern Africa.
Key strategies included rightsizing European supply chain operations, exploring new markets, customers, and export channels in Southern Africa, diversifying service offerings and implementing innovative client solutions across all geographies.
Despite challenging conditions, particularly in Europe and the UK, Super Group delivered a resilient performance in the past financial year with :group revenue up by 4.6% to R64.90bn. Operating profit before tax decreased by 5.6% to R3.79 billion
The company remains focused on adapting to market challenges and capitalising on growth opportunities across its diverse operations.