Africa's second-biggest grocer Pick 'n' Pay Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday it expects to report an 8-15 percent rise in full year headline earnings per share, sending its shares down more than 4 percent.

The company said headline EPS for six months to end-August, including losses incurred in the Score Supermarkets which it is selling, would be between 3-10 percent higher.

Shares in Pick 'n' Pay closed 4.29 percent weaker at 16.75 rand, lagging a 0.64 drop in the JSE Top-40 index of blue chips .JTOPI.

Pick 'n' Pay, which competes with Shoprite, Woolworths and Spar, said it expected EPS, which includes the profit on the sale of the properties, to be between 45-55 percent higher.

South African retailers are struggling to keep sales rising faster than inflation as a recession in Africa's biggest economy dampens consumer spending.

(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng)