A profitable financial year has validated DFI Retail Group’s ongoing strategic changes, its chairman has said.

The 2025 financial year brought a 35 per cent jump in underlying profits, to US$270 million, for the pan-Asian retailer, which operates brands such as Mannings, 7-Eleven, and Guardian.

These profits came in spite of a stagnant year-end revenue. The $8.8 billion in sales matched the group’s 2024 figure.

“Effective execution of our strategy drove strong financial performance and higher shareholder returns in 2025, despite a challenging retail environment,” DFI’s chairman, Lincoln Pan, said.

“Our significant progress made in portfolio simplification creates investment capacity for strategic priorities, enabling greater value for our customers and accretive inorganic opportunities to drive sustainable growth and returns.”

DFI reported that 7-Eleven, for example, is adjusting its portfolio to focus more on higher-margin, non-cigarette categories, with ready-to-eat offerings now accounting for 24 per cent of convenience sales in 2025.

The group also saw its operating cash flow after lease payments stand at $430 million, up 30 per cent on the year prior. The group’s free cash flow alone was up 78 per cent year-on-year.