South Africa's Lewis Group flags lower half-year profit, shares slide

South African furniture retailer Lewis Group expects a drop in half-year earnings of up to 45 percent as its less affluent customers face tough economic conditions, the company said on Friday, sending its shares down. Lewis said headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended September will be between 210 cents and 177 cents, compared with 322.6 cents last year. Headline EPS is the main profit gauge in South Africa that strips out certain one-off items.