Wesfarmers profit edges higher on retail, resources struggle

Wednesday, 24 Feb 2016 06:48:15 | Stephen Letts

A Lowest Prices are Just the Beginning... sign is seen at a Bunnings hardware store. (AAP: Dan Himbrechts)

Retail and resources conglomerate Wesfamers has eked out a 1.2 per cent increase in first-half profit, with stronger sales outweighing the earnings drag of its coal business.

The first-half profit came in at $1.39 billion, up from $1.38 billion recorded in the same period last year, but behind the record $1.43 billion result in 2014.

Sales rose 4.7 per cent to $33.5 billion.

Overall, the result was in line with market expectations.

Revenue for the Coles supermarket chain grew 3.1 per cent, with the important and competitive food and liquor division seeing sales up by 6 per cent.

The home improvement division, Bunnings, continued its perennially strong performance with revenue growth of 10.9 per cent, while Officeworks was not too far behind, with sales up 9.1 per cent.

Department stores, which are undergoing a significant restructure, showed an improvement, with Kmart continuing to rattle along with earnings up 10.4 per cent and the troubled Target brand producing a 5.7 per cent increase on earnings on a 2 per cent rise in sales.

The resources business - principally coal mining - reported a loss of $118 million, $153 million down on last year due to the impact of lower prices and production.

More to come.

AustraliaPlus

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Wesfarmers profit edges higher on retail, resources struggle

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