Shares in Myer Holdings rose as the struggling retailer tried to put on a brave face despite reporting lower profits and flat sales for the first half of the 2025 financial year (H1 FY25).
Myer said net profit after tax fell 18.4% to A$42.4 million (US$26.7 million) on sales that edged up by just 0.7% to $1.83 billion in the 26 weeks to 25 January 2025.
Directors did not declare an interim dividend, but will make a fully franked 2.5 cent special payout on 20 March to shareholders registered on 28 January. This is down from 3.0 cents a year earlier.
Myer also said it had appointed advisors to review and find buyers for Sass & Bide, Marcs and David Lawrence fashion brands.
Despite an initial dip to 68 cents Myer (ASX: MYR) shares rebounded to trade up two cents at the day’s high of 76 cents, capitalising the company at $1.31 billion, at the time of writing.
Executive Chair Olivia Wirth said Myer traded well in the Black Friday and Christmas periods with growth in comparable and online sales. This was despite a challenging trading and economic environment and complications at its national distribution centre.
CEO John King said Myer described first half sales as “strong”, particularly as they were compared with record results in H1 FY24.
He said market share in stores and online increased and underlying profit remained robust despite the impact of the Brisbane store closure and increased promotional "cadence".
In the first six weeks of H2 FY25, department store comparable sales rose 4.9%.
King said the new National Distribution Centre ramp up, the continued roll out of enhanced shopping experiences and brands, tight inventory management and a continued focus on “newness” would help with momentum in the second half.
“Like all retailers, we continue to remain cautious about the macro-economic environment. However, we are encouraged with our results for the first six weeks of 2H, and have a strong program of deliverables to roll out during the half as part of our Customer First Plan,” King said in an ASX announcement.
Myer, which has 750 department stores, is relying on the recent $1.1 billion deal to buy apparel brands from Premier Investments (ASX: PMV) to pull it out of a long decline and reposition it as what Wirth described as a "retail powerhouse”.
