Weather, war, inflation hit results at Super Retail Group

High fuel prices and poor weather stopped Aussies hitting the open road this year, sinking the owner of BCF and Supercheap Auto to a 7 per cent dip in profit.

The owner of Supercheap Auto, Rebel, BCF and Macpac points to war in the Middle East, inflation and bad weather as the cause of the 7.2 per cent fall in profits, revealed in Super Retail Group’s full-year financial results on Thursday.

The results show “pleasing” results for Rebel, “resilient” trade at Supercheap, but “softer trading conditions” at BCF and Macpac.

Poor weather in Victoria and South Australia saw less “marine and fishing activity”, the annual report says, and high fuel prices “significantly moderated outdoor leisure activity over the crucial Easter trading period”.

More broadly, the effect of the conflict in the Middle East creates uncertainty for the company’s outlook on the coming year.

“Super Retail Group delivered a solid FY26 result, achieving record sales in the face of significant headwinds that included geopolitical instability in the Middle East, unfavourable weather and increasing interest rate pressure on households,” chief executive Paul Bradshaw told the ASX.

“While challenges in the broader retail landscape remain, I’m confident we have the team and strategy in place to meet evolving customer needs and deliver future growth.”

Super Retail Group posted a 7.2 per cent fall in after-tax profits for the year, despite sales increasing 3.2 per cent to $4.2bn. The corporation’s cost of doing business rose 5.6 per cent; gross margins were fattened at Rebel and BCF but offset by “modest declines” at Supercheap and Macpac.

Originally published as Weather, war, inflation hit results at Super Retail Group