JOHANNESBURG, Jan 12 (Reuters) - South Africa's upmarket retailer Woolworths Holdings WHLJ.J expects first-half profit to be between 2.5 percent to 7.5 percent lower, the company said in a trading update on Thursday.
* Woolworths, which sells products similar to those of Britain's Marks and Spencer MKS.L , sees headline earnings per share (HEPS) between 234.5 to 247.2 cents for the 26-week period ended 25 December 2016.
* HEPS is the main profit measure used in South Africa that strips out certain one-off times.
* Adjusted diluted headline earnings per share (adHEPS) for the period are expected to be between 0 and 5 percent lower at 238.3 to 250.8 cents.
* The retailer, which also sells food, reported a 6.7 percent rise in group sales for the first-half of the 2017 financial year.
* Sales at department store chain David Jones and Country Road Group were negatively impacted by the timing of the public holiday of Boxing Day and last year's termination of the Dick Smith electronics concession, Woolworths said in a statement.