Mr Price, often considered the bellwether of the retail sector, posted on Thursday a fall of 6% in annual profit on the back of increased inflationary pressure on consumers and power cuts.

It reported headline earnings per share of 1,205.7 cents for the year ended April 1, down from 1,282.1 cents a year earlier.

The company, which is a leader in the apparel and home sectors, estimates its revenue lost due to power cuts was around R1 billion from September 2022 to March 2023.

Compounding revenue lost, consumers are tightening their purse strings, with clothing and footwear inflation expanding in May to 3.2% year-on-year, according to government statistics.

Load shedding has become a permanent and tiresome obstacle to businesses in South Africa and the cost of doing business has materially increased, stifling economic growth,” the company said in a statement referring to the power cuts.