TJ Strydom | JOHANNESBURG

South Africa-based retail group Steinhoff International reported a 13 percent rise in half-year operating profit and a 48 percent jump in revenue as recent acquisitions buoyed sales.

Steinhoff, which bought U.S.-based Mattress Firm and Britain’s Poundland last year, said its operating profit rose to 903 million euros ($1.02 billion) in the six months to end-March, up from 797 million a year earlier.

“Excluding the recent strategic acquisitions, the company’s retail business achieved total organic revenue of 7.2 billion euros amidst volatile markets and currencies, translating to 9 percent organic growth,” Steinhoff said in a statement.

The South African group, which moved its primary listing to Frankfurt in 2015, focuses on thrifty furniture shoppers in developed markets such as Europe and the United States but also sells clothing and mobile phone airtime in Africa.

Geographical and product diversification in a resilient discount market helped the company achieve solid revenue and operating margins, Chief Executive Markus Jooste said.

Steinhoff, after withdrawing from a plan to merge its African assets with grocer Shoprite, last month said it planned to separately list its African businesses on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.

($1 = 0.8876 euros)

(Reporting by TJ Strydom; editing by Jason Neely)