Variation pays off at Wesfarmers
The company behind many of Australia's most iconic shopping outlets has posted some good-looking figures.
Wesfarmers has reported a rise of 6 per cent in the 12 months to the end of June. For the company that owns Coles, Bunnings, Kmart and Target that means earnings jumped to $2.26 billion, while the year's total revenue was reported at $59.83 billion.
It may be good to have a diverse range of outlets to draw income from; according to reports Wesfarmers' Target arm saw earnings plunge over 44 per cent. Kmart helped the figures reach redemption though, reporting an earnings increase of 28.4 per cent to $344 million.
Profits from Coles climbed 13.1 per cent to $1.53 billion, while Bunnings brought in $904 million.
Richard Goyder, managing director for Wesfarmers said he was pleased - possibly somewhat surprised - at the figures given the conglomerate’s mixed results.
“The group's outlook remains positive despite more subdued forecasts for the Australian economy and challenging conditions for a number of the group's industrial divisions,” Mr Goyder said during an analyst briefing this week, “our primary objective is to provide satisfactory returns to shareholders and the cash generative nature of the group's businesses, our balance sheet strength and the strong focus on return on capital are expected to enhance future shareholder returns.”
Goyder says the seemingly tough times at Target are due to a restructure taking place, which has included broad stock clearance a store support office re-jig.
Wesfarmers will pay a final dividend of $1.03, leaving the full-year dividend payout to shareholders at $1.80.