South African franchise restaurant chain Spur lifts H1 sales

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Spur Corporation reported a 6.5 percent increase in half-year restaurant sales on Wednesday, largely on the back of a strong performance in the up-market franchise Hussar Grill steak restaurant.

A recovery in the Spur Steak Ranches brand also helped increase sales, although Chief Executive, Pierre van Tonder said in a trading update that growth was curbed in the second quarter as the South African consumer spent less.

"The South African consumer is taking significant strain due to the sombre state of the economy, although the performance of The Hussar Grill indicates that higher-income consumers continue to be more resilient to the weakening economy," he said.

South African consumers are feeling the impact of higher value-added tax, unemployment and fuel prices.

Spur, which has 616 restaurants across Africa, Mauritius, the Middle East and Australasia, said franchise restaurant sales rose by 6.5 percent to 3.9 billion rand ($287 million) in the six-months to the end of December.

Sales of its Spur Steak Ranches division rose 6.1 percent in the period compared to a 9.3 percent decline in 2017.

The group will release its half-year results on February 28.

($1 = 13.6024 rand)

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia)