Wesfarmers delivers 9.3% profit growth in first half, hikes dividend
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The news: Wesfarmers recorded a 9.3% leap in first-half statutory profit to $1.60 billion after its Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks businesses each delivered improved sales year over year.
The numbers: The result was an improvement on last year’s first-half profit of $1.47 billion and edged out consensus estimates of $1.57 billion, according to Visible Alpha data.
First-half revenue of $24.21 billion marked a 3.1% rise year on year, and compared to $24.35 billion expected by analysts.
The group declared an interim dividend of $1.02 per share, up 7.4% from 95 cents per share last year, and beat average estimates of 99 cents per share.
The context: Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said divisions benefitted from productivity initiatives during the period to “navigate ongoing challenging market conditions”.
Those initiatives included expanding addressable markets, improving in-store sales density, advancing expansion projects in WesCEF and leveraging data and digital capabilities to support in-store and digital growth.
What they said: “Despite a modest improvement in consumer demand, higher costs continued to weigh on many households and businesses, and residential construction activity remained subdued,” said Scott.
“The divisions performed well, driving productivity to mitigate cost pressures and keep prices low for customers.”
The source: ASX
