KAL Group continues strong momentum with solid first quarter performance

KAL Group, the unique South African agri, fuel & convenience specialty retailer listed on the JSE, today reported continued strong trading momentum, with the solid performance achieved in 2025 carrying through into the first quarter of 2026.

“Despite the sluggish operating environment, we have consistently delivered in 2025, thanks to disciplined execution by the team. We are full steam ahead in rolling out our 2030 strategy and our performance remains aligned with the promises we’ve made to the market,” said Sean Walsh, CEO of KAL Group, speaking at the company’s Annual General Meeting to shareholders in Paarl.

He added that during 2025 the Group structured the business in line with its strategic ambitions. The company is now streamlined into two pillars with clear value-propositions: Agrimark, the Group’s agricultural & lifestyle retail business, and PEG, the Group’s fuel & convenience arm.

Performance indicators strengthen

In the 2025 financial year, the Group recorded growth across all major performance indicators. Gross profit increased by 3.9% to R3,09 billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 7.5% to R923,82 million. Recurring headline earnings per share rose 11.2% to 624.47 cents, and total dividend per share increased by 16.7% to 210 cents. Return on invested capital (ROIC), a key metric for the Group, improved to 13.2% from 12.6% in the previous year.

“We are also encouraged by the continued trading momentum in the first quarter of 2026, with the debt-to-equity ratio strengthening to 34.3%, recurring headline earnings per share increasing by 13.4%, and ROIC continuing to trend in the right direction,” he added.

Walsh said the leadership team remains firmly focused on delivering on the Group’s 2030 strategy, which sets clear performance ambitions across the business. These include achieving a 15% return on equity, a 14% ROIC, and maintaining an average debt-to-equity ratio of around 40%. The strategy also targets sustained profit growth of 15% across both Agrimark and PEG.

Business unit performance

At the AGM, Arno Abeln, the MD of Agrimark, said momentum carried through to the first quarter of 2026, with agri turnover up 8.4% and agri trading profit increasing by 8.7%. “It’s been a strong quarter on the agri side so far in 2026, with encouraging turnover and margin growth across the business,” said Abeln. “Our focus on assortment optimisation and merchandising-for-profit continues to support margin expansion, even in a flat retail environment, with retail trading profit up 7.2%. We are also seeing like-for-like fuel litre growth and market share gains in a category that has been declining overall.”

Xolisa Bangazi, MD of PEG, said the division made solid progress in 2025 by sharpening its network footprint, improving site performance and tightening cost discipline.

During the first quarter of 2026, the PEG business delivered retail gross profit growth of 8.7% compared to the previous year. Gross profit from its fuel activities increased by 5.9% year-on-year.  

Bangazi added that the launch of PEG’s forecourt loyalty programme, Imali Yam, in November 2025 had gained strong early traction. “We already have 20 000 registered users, more than 150 000 transactions processed and R153 million in loyalty-linked activity. The success of the pilot confirms the potential of this programme to help protect market share and strengthen customer engagement. We expect to roll it out to more sites during the coming year.”

KAL Group also reported on progress across its sustainability, social responsibility and governance initiatives. This included the installation of 20 renewable energy solutions across the Group since inception of its renewable energy programme in 2020. In addition, since 2009, KAL has invested R13,7 million in the KAL Academy, supporting the training and development of 529 small-scale farmers. Through its Harvesting Hope Programme, which was established in 2023 in partnership with food distribution organisations, the Group has rescued more than 789 tonnes of fresh produce from going to waste and redistributed it to charities. In addition, KAL’s R2,5 million bursary programme supported 50 learners and students during the 2025 academic year.

Outlook for the year

Looking ahead, Walsh said that the Group remains cautiously optimistic.

“Despite the negative sentiment around tariffs, fruit farmers reported a strong 2025, with some citrus farmers reporting the best year on record. This bodes well for farmer spending on infrastructure and inputs, although low wheat and maize prices are placing pressure on certain parts of the agricultural value chain. However, our diversified portfolio across agri, fuel, retail and convenience positions us well to navigate these dynamics,” concluded Walsh.