Lewis revenue up 8% for quarter ended January 5

South African retail group Lewis on Monday said that its revenue growth for the quarter ended 5 January 2008 increased by 8% with the cumulative revenue growth for the 9 months ended 5 January increasing by 10%.

It added that merchandise sales for the quarter increased by 2% with cumulative sales growth for the 9 months up 5%.

"Although trading conditions have been challenging the sales performance of the main product categories - furniture (53% of total sales) and appliances (25% of total sales) has been satisfactory with a cumulative sales increase of 12% for the 9 months ended 5 January 2008," it said.

It added that the electronic category, which makes up 22% of total sales and traditionally is a discretionary consumer spend, has been impacted by the tough trading environment and is 12% lower.

It also reported that collections during the quarter were slightly below budget. "The overall condition of the debtors book on 5th January 2008 as measured by the doubtful debt provision is 14% of Net Debtors compared to 15% last year." It said.

Lewis is expecting to announce its full-year results for its 2008 financial year on Monday 19 May.

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