The group said it had achieved a strong trading performance for the 2023 financial year, with franchised restaurant sales increasing by 23% on the previous financial year.

Spur's speciality brands and international business are ticking over nicely, helping drive the group's half-year profits in a tough economic environment.

In a trading update on Monday, the Spur Corporation said sales for the year ended June 2023 had surged by almost a quarter.

The group's speciality brands, Hussar Grill, Casa Bella and Nikos, are up 42.2% year-on-year, while international brands were up 27.6%. International restaurant turnovers also increased by 17.8% on a constant exchange rate basis.

The group, due to release its annual results on 22 August, said it is expecting to report earnings per share - which indicates the profitability of a company - of between 256.91 and 264.12 and headline EPS, based entirely on operational, trading and capital investment activities, of 256.70 to 263.91. Both are expected to have increased by between 78% to 83%.

Shareholders were reminded that the profit for the previous financial year included a one-off income tax charge of R22.034-million related to its dispute with the South African Revenue Service.

The group said it had achieved a strong trading performance for the 2023 financial year, with franchised restaurant sales increasing by 23% on the prior financial year, with H1 sales growing by 31.5%...