Surprising on the upside‚ South Africa's second-largest grocer reported a 13.6% rise in first-half profit‚ while sales gained 6.2% to R30.1bn.
Pick n Pay is in the midst of a turnaround‚ having lost market share to rivals Shoprite and Woolworths over the past few years as it struggled to implement changes in information technology and distribution‚ while battling high costs.
"It's been a sad time ... seeing the company slip down. We had a very decentralised business ... but there is no question that‚ with Walmart coming in and the huge success of Shoprite‚ we had to make very dramatic changes that were very difficult‚" said Ackerman‚ who was chairman until he stepped down in 2010.
"I am terribly encouraged by what (Pick n Pay CEO) Richard Brasher has produced with his team in the past six months. There is such a lot that we have to do to catch up and be the leading retailer‚ but I feel very strongly that we can."
He added: "It has worried me sick that we were losing our reputation and that our company has been going down. But there is such an enormous breath of fresh air and we are going to get it right‚ but it will take time."
Retailers have been bemoaning trading conditions over the past few months as spending in South Africa comes under pressure while consumers battle rising utility costs and debt.
In the six months to September‚ which it described as "extremely competitive"‚ Pick n Pay cut costs and streamlined its supply chain.
Brasher said there was no area of the group that had not been examined and improved in the past six months.
"The greater part of the structural changes and their associated costs are now behind us‚" he said. "We are benefiting from the capabilities that we have put in place and are beginning to realise the potential of our investments. Our energy and focus has returned to the basics of good retailing."
Brasher joined Pick n Pay in February. His appointment was seen as a coup for the Cape Town-based retailer. He was Tesco's CE of its UK operations‚ where he had a record of cost-cutting and expertise in loyalty‚ merchandising and multichannel initiatives.
Gross profit at R5.5bn showed an improvement of 0.4 percentage points in margin at 18.1% of turnover. The group's trading margin‚ at 1.1% of turnover‚ improved by 0.2 percentage points.
During the period‚ Pick n Pay opened 44 stores across all formats‚ resulting in more stores being launched over a six-month period than at any other time in the past decade. The group closed nine underperforming stores and expects to open 60 stores in the next six months.
"In line with reviewing all aspects of the business‚ and in positioning the company for growth‚ the board decided to moderate the annual dividend cover to 1.5 times headline earnings per share. The interim dividend of 14.8c per share was 0.3% up on the prior year‚" Pick n Pay said.
In August‚ Pick n Pay embarked on a round of voluntary retrenchments focusing on its head office and regional head offices around the country in a bid to rein in operating costs.
On a comparable basis‚ Pick n Pay's Africa division increased revenue by 32.8% to R1.6bn for the period under review. The group said the division continued to grow steadily with store openings in Zambia‚ Mozambique‚ Namibia and Zimbabwe during the period.
With Africa's middle class expected to triple by 2031‚ consumer-facing industries are harnessing opportunities to cash in on the surge in spending.
Pick n Pay‚ which wants to establish Africa as its second engine of growth‚ operates 110 stores in eight other African countries.
"We have become fitter‚ leaner and more competitive and as a team we are ambitious‚ determined and confident‚" Brasher said.
"There is significant potential in the business and we are committed to realising it.
"Despite the improvement in our performance‚ we remain far from satisfied. There is much more to do. While I'm encouraged by our first-half result‚ I remain far from satisfied but do feel that Pick n Pay is back in the game."
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