Super Retail Group has held firm amid the tough trading climate for retailers, reporting a 2 per cent lift in sales to a record $3.9 billion for the full year to 30 June 2024. But like many it's seen a hit to its earnings and profits, reporting a segment EBIT decline of 9 per cent to $400m and a net profit drop of 9 per cent to $240m.

Among the highlights of the results was a 9 per cent lift in online sales to $485m, representing 13 per cent of all sales. Another was a 12 per cent boost to total loyalty program numbers in its relaunched Rebel Active loyalty program to 11.5m. An active club member is someone who has purchased at least once in the last 12 months. Loyalty members accounted for 77 per cent of total sales, and overall NPS for club members was 69, up 2 points.

Across the various retail brands within the stable, BCF was scored the best total sales growth of 5 per cent in FY24 to $879m, followed by Supercheap Auto ($1.5bn) and Macpac ($222m), both at 3 per cent. Rebel saw a 1 per cent dip by contrast to $1.29bn, and also took a one-off cost of $7m relating to the overhaul of its loyalty program. It also had a higher than average online sales ratio of 17 per cent, with click-and-collect accounting for 28 per cent of those.

Group gross margin increased by 10 bps to 46.3 per cent despite increased promotional activity from competitors across the categories in which the Group operates.

In its report, Super Retail Group also noted the cost of doing business as a percentage of sales increased by 120 bps to approximately 36 per cent, primarily due to the impact of inflation on wages and rent. The group reported an 81 per cent engagement score across its 16,000-strong employee base.

Over the course of the year, the group opened 28 stores.

Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Heraghty described Super Retail Group's performance as "solid" in FY24 as record sales and higher gross margin helped mitigate the impact of inflation its cost base.

"In a macroeconomic environment where cost-of-living pressures are dampening consumer spending, the delivery of top-line growth is a testimony to the strength of our four core brands and the resilience of the categories in which we operate," he said.

"Ongoing investment in our store network through new store openings, refurbishments and the roll-out of new formats remained an important driver of revenue growth. In addition, our continued focus on omni-retail execution delivered nine per cent growth in online sales, which are now approaching half a billion dollars. Pleasingly, for the fourth consecutive year, the Group has added more than one million active club members to its customer loyalty base. We now have 11.5 million active club members across our loyalty programs, representing 77 per cent of Group sales."

The Board has determined to pay a fully franked final ordinary dividend of 37 cents per share, which is at the upper end of the Group's dividend payout policy.

As to FY25, Super Retail Group said its showing like-for-like sales growth of 4 per cent in the first seven weeks of trading, and 6 per cent total sales growth, with Macpac a big contributor in the mix.

Supercheap Auto executed a successful Best Performing Oils promotion, which was brought forward in the calendar, while footwear and apparel have driven higher sales in rebel, which is cycling elevated sales of licensed products in the pcp relating to the FIFA Women's Football World Cup.

The group said BCF had seen continued growth in fishing, caravan and 4WD, while Macpac delivered a strong finish to the peak winter sales period. Sales momentum accelerated in FY25 YTD, with insulation and rainwear sales benefitting from cold and wet weather.

"The Group has made a strong start to the year with positive sales momentum across all of our four core brands," Heraghty said.

"The outlook for the consumer in the year ahead remains uncertain given ongoing cost-of-living pressure on household budgets. We will continue to manage our costs effectively while investing in the business for future growth. The Group's customer value proposition, the strength of our brands and the size of our customer loyalty club membership base means Super Retail Group remains well positioned to perform in retail market conditions where customers are carefully managing their spending and prioritising value-for-money purchases."

The Group has earmarked $165m in capex in FY25 to fund a store development program, new distribution centre, enhancements to its customer loyalty programs and cyber, omni and digital capability.