South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay has announced its exit from the Nigerian market, selling its 51% stake in a joint venture as part of its strategy to restructure outside its home market. This move comes amidst profitability challenges and a reported larger half-year loss driven by trading losses and rising borrowing costs.

Pick n Pay, which entered the Nigerian market less than five years ago through a partnership with A.G. Leventis (Nigeria), currently operates two stores in the country. The company's exit adds to the growing list of multinationals that have left Nigeria in recent times due to similar challenges.

Despite the setback, Pick n Pay reported "solid momentum" in its clothing and online businesses, along with encouraging improvements in the underlying performance of its company-owned supermarkets. The company's CEO, Sean Summers, expressed "quiet confidence" that the company could reduce trading losses in its Pick n Pay business by up to 50% for the full year.

The group's discount Boxer division saw trading profit rise by 16% to 801.4 million rand, driven by a 12% increase in sales. The South African grocer plans to list its low-cost Boxer business on the Johannesburg bourse by the end of the year and raise as much as 8 billion rand ($452 million) in the process, making it the continent's biggest offering this year.

This development highlights the challenges faced by startups and retailers operating in Africa's most populous country, and the need for companies to adapt and restructure in response to shifting market conditions.