Johannesburg (Reuters) -South African fashion retailer TFG reported a 4.6% rise in annual earnings on Friday thanks to a rebound in sales in Africa in the second half of the year, store expansion and the acquisition of British chain White Stuff.

TFG, which also operates in Australia, said headline earnings per share rose to 10.15 rand ($0.57) in the year ended March 31, up from 9.707 rand. Gross profit was up 6.7% to a record 28.8 billion rand ($1.62 billion).

TFG Africa's sales rose 7% in the second half after falling 0.1% in the first half. For the full year, sales rose by 3.7%.

Group online sales now contribute 12% of total sales, driven by the "continued success of our Bash platform, which has reached profitability two years ahead of schedule - a very likely unique achievement in the South African retail space," TFG CEO Anthony Thunström said.

TFG's total group revenue rose by 4.1% to 62.6 billion rand for the year, while retail sales increased 3.6%, boosted by 8.7% sales growth in the second half after a 2% contraction in the first half, supported by store expansions across all territories and the acquisition of fashion and lifestyle retailer White Stuff in the UK.

In Britain, TFG's annual sales rose by 16.4% in pounds, following the acquisition, while TFG Australia continued to face difficult trading conditions, with sustained high inflation and interest rates impacting the consumer.

The retailer declared a final dividend of 230 cents per share.

($1 = 17.7589 rand)

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Jan Harvey and Susan Fenton)

By Nqobile Dludla