The story of Dis-Chem is deeply intertwined with Saltzman’s entrepreneurial vision. Alongside his wife, Lynette, Saltzman founded the business in 1978 with a single storefront in Mondeor, Johannesburg. Over nearly five decades, the pair evolved the family-owned pharmacy into a diversified, JSE-listed healthcare group with a nationwide footprint.
This extensive growth recently propelled the Saltzman family onto the Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the first time, with a combined net worth of $1.3 billion. This milestone places Saltzman alongside prominent South African business figures like Johann Rupert, Nicky Oppenheimer, Koos Bekker, and Patrice Motsepe.
While Saltzman retired as an executive director on June 30, 2026, he will remain on the board as a Non-Executive Director to provide strategic insight and deep industry knowledge. He was previously replaced as CEO by Rui Morais in 2023.
Dis-Chem Group Remuneration Structures
The group's latest integrated report for the financial year ended February 28, 2026, details a wide gap between executive compensation and entry-level staff:
- Highest Earner: Received R29 million during the year.
- CEO Remuneration: Rui Morais earned R23 million during the year.
- Average Earner: Received R276,000.
- Median Earner: Stood at R144,000.
- Lowest Earner: Received R60,000 (equivalent to R5,000 per month).
- Pay Ratio: The remuneration ratio between the top 5% and the bottom 5% earners sits at 18.4:1.
Financial Performance and Digital AI Investments
Dis-Chem’s latest financial metrics showed mixed results, balancing top-line growth with aggressive tech spending:
| Financial Metric | Current Period | Prior Period | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Revenue | R42.8 billion | R39.2 billion | 9.3% |
| Group Profit Before Tax | R1.8 billion | R1.5 billion | 20.1% |
| Earnings Per Share | 114.2 cents | 137.6 cents | (17.1%) |
| Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS) | 113.7 cents | 137.5 cents | (17.3%) |
| Total Dividend Declared Per Share | 45.34 cents | 54.83 cents | (17.3%) |
According to Dis-Chem chair Laurence Nestadt, the drops in earnings per share and dividends were the consequence of a deliberate, board-endorsed R330 million investment to establish "X, bigly labs," alongside certain non-recurring expenses.
Future Outlook
The board expects the company to benefit from the growing demand for accessible healthcare and wellness solutions in South Africa. The group's strategy to navigate the competitive retail market includes the maturing of its Better Rewards programme, the launch of a new Dis-Chem app, and progressive returns as the "X, bigly labs" data, analytics, and AI platforms become fully operationalised. Additional growth is expected from market-share opportunities through CJ Distribution and expansions within Dis-Chem Health and Dis-Chem Life.