Shares in Woolworths have gained about 30 percent since the start of the year, outperforming a 3 percent decline for the Johannesburg bourse’s all-share index.

The group, which will pay a dividend of 247 cents per share against 240 cent a year earlier – said that the transformation and integration of Australian department store David Jones, acquired in 2014, was progressing well. “The new investment in Australia has not detracted from our strategic objectives and plans in SA and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa where Woolworths continues to perform well, despite the constrained economic environment and the impact of load shedding on our trading performance”, the company said. Sales gained 42 percent to 56.5 billion rand, including the David Jones purchase.

While the Australian economy appears set for challenging times, the higher income consumers David Jones is targeting are proving resilient, company representative said. “Trading for the first eight weeks of the new financial year has been positive”, he said. “The customer experience has got to be the best in Australia, and as hard as this sounds we want it to be the best in the world”.

In its home market Woolworths is faring better than rivals thanks in part to the appeal of its high-end food offerings, such as fresh pasta, gourmet sauces and ostrich burgers, to its well-heeled customers.

While some David Jones stores may be closed and formats of existing shops changed further, Woolworths also plans to open more outlets.

 Net income at the seller of organic foods and worldwide clothing brands such as Country Road rose to 3.75 billion rand ($286 million) in the year through 28 June, the Cape Town-based company said in a statement on Thursday. Food sales climbed 14 percent, while clothing revenue increased 9.6 percent.