Mr Price says Q3 sales up 10 pct, shares fall

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African retailer Mr Price said on Thursday third quarter sales grew 10 percent, hemmed in by slowing credit sales and its shares declined.

Mr Price, South Africa's third-largest clothes retailer by value, said in a trading statement that September-December sales were hit by its plan to slow the growth of sales on credit.

That company said it intends to remain a cash-based retailer, even as store loans see explosive growth in Africa's top economy.

Shares finished down 3.3 percent at 121.25 rand shortly after the trading statement.

Mr Price, which caters to lower income shoppers, warned late last year that trading conditions would be challenging as its customer base battles high levels of personal debt.

South African household debt levels are at 76 percent of disposable income, near record levels and reflecting the boom in high-risk unsecured loans.

Analysts say the nation's retailers are overpriced and investors will take some profit this year and shift into resource stocks.

Mr Price rallied 75 percent last year, while high-end retailer Woolworths notched up 80 percent gains, outdoing Johannesburg's benchmark Top-40 index by more than 50 percentage points.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mr-price-says-q3-sales-10-pct-shares-150924266--finance.html

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