Key Highlights

  • Group sales were A$4,200 million, up 3.2%, while normalised profit before tax was A$306.2 million, down 7.0%.
  • The final ordinary Dividend was 33 cents fully franked, bringing FY26 Ordinary Dividends to 65 cents.
  • A new five-year strategy and Project Ignite were announced in June 2026, with FY27 Capital Expenditure of about A$160 million.
  • In the first seven weeks of FY27, group like-for-like sales growth was 1.5% and total sales growth was 3.5%.

Why is Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL) investing in a new five-year strategy when its latest profit slipped? The FY26 result, released on 20 August 2026, shows sales growth of 3.2% but lower margins and uneven performance across its four brands, and the company is spending on technology and systems to address that.

The central development: sales up, profit down

Super Retail reported FY26 results for the 52 weeks to 27 June 2026. Group sales were A$4,200m, up 3.2% from A$4,070m. Like-for-like sales grew 1.8%, easing from 2.5% in the first half to 1.1% in the second.

Profit moved the other way. Normalised profit before tax was A$306.2m, down 7.0%, and the PBT Margin fell 80 basis points to 7.3%. Normalised net profit after tax was A$225.9m, down 2.8%, or 100 cents per share. Statutory NPAT was A$206m, down 7.2%, or 91.2 cents per share.

Gross margin edged up 10 basis points to 45.7%, so the pressure came mainly from costs and mix rather than product margin. The company cited wage and occupancy inflation, and BCF's cost of doing Business rose 110 basis points as a share of sales.

Segment EBITDA was A$774m, up 2.1%, while segment EBIT was A$389m, down 2.7%. The gap between those two measures points to higher Depreciation and amortisation. That is our reading of the reported figures, and the announcement material we reviewed does not break the charge down.

What Super Retail does

Super Retail operates four retail brands: Supercheap Auto (car parts and accessories), rebel (sporting goods), BCF (boating, camping and fishing) and Macpac (outdoor gear and apparel). It earns Revenue from store and online sales and from its loyalty clubs, which had 13.1m active members, up 5%.

Online sales were A$552m, up 5.3% and 13.1% of group sales. The group opened 28 stores and closed 13 in FY26, a net gain of 15. At period end it had 362 Supercheap Auto stores, 162 rebel stores, 170 BCF stores and 103 Macpac stores.

Division by division

Supercheap Auto sales were A$1.6bn, up 3.9%, with like-for-like growth of 2.7% and segment PBT of A$203.3m, up 3.3%. Online sales rose 17% to A$147m, though gross margin fell 30 basis points on product mix.

rebel sales were A$1.4bn, up 4.5%, with segment PBT of A$105.1m, up 4.3%. Gross margin rose 60 basis points. The company said licensed apparel was a standout during the FIFA World Cup.

BCF was the lowest-performing brand. Sales were A$952.7m, up 0.2%, like-for-like sales fell 2.1% and segment PBT dropped 14.3% to A$52.3m. Super Retail attributed this to weather and a spike in fuel prices that hurt the marine, fishing and 4WD categories.

Macpac sales were A$239.5m, up 3.5%, and segment PBT rose 32% to A$13.6m, helped by a 150 basis point fall in its cost of doing business. Mild winter conditions dampened late-period demand.

Cash, Balance Sheet and dividends

Operating cash flow was A$593.1m, a cash conversion rate of 92% against 95% in FY25. Capital expenditure fell A$42m to A$123m. Inventory rose A$73.1m to A$959.9m. Net Debt was A$14m, which the company said was within its target gearing range.

The final ordinary dividend was 33 cents, fully franked, bringing FY26 ordinary dividends to 65 cents, at the upper end of the payout policy. A Special Dividend of 30 cents relating to FY25 was also paid during the year.

Projects completed in FY26 included a new human resources and Payroll system and an automated distribution centre in Victoria. The group's total recordable injury frequency rate improved to 10.9 from 12.1.

Strategy, trading update and guidance-type statements

A new five-year strategy and a programme called Project Ignite were announced at an investor day in June 2026. For FY27, the company expects capital expenditure of about A$160m, mostly technology and systems, and group and unallocated costs of about A$60m, split roughly evenly between corporate costs and Project Ignite. It plans 18 net new stores: eight for Supercheap Auto, five for rebel, four for BCF and one for Macpac.

A trading update covered the first seven weeks of FY27. Group like-for-like sales growth was 1.5% and total sales growth was 3.5%. Supercheap Auto was highest, with like-for-like growth of 4.0%. rebel recorded 1.1%, BCF 0.4%, and Macpac a decline of 8.9%. BCF's like-for-like figure excludes large-format store openings.

These are early-period figures and not a forecast for the full year. The company did not provide FY27 profit guidance in the material we reviewed, so none is stated here. On our own arithmetic, the A$60m group cost line is about 1.4% of FY26 sales, which gives a sense of the scale of the planned investment.

Risks and what to monitor

The company listed Middle East tensions and a fuel price spike in the fourth quarter as sources of uncertainty for FY27. Other risks include mild winters, wage and occupancy Inflation and the higher Working Capital and project costs associated with its strategy.

Inventory growth is also worth tracking, since stock rose A$73.1m during a year of slowing second-half sales growth, and capital spending is stepping up from A$123m to a planned A$160m.

Items to watch include whether Macpac's early-year decline eases, whether BCF's like-for-like sales recover, and how the cost of doing business tracks as Project Ignite spending flows through.