Wesfarmers half-year profit has increased by 13.2 per cent, while earnings for its Coles supermarkets dropped for the same period.
The company reported a net profit after tax of $1,577 million for the half-year ended 31 December 2016. In addition, earnings per share increased 12.8 per cent to $1.40 per share, and return on equity (R12) increased 20 basis points to 10.2 per cent.
The result reflected good performances by its Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks chains. In contrast, earnings for Coles supermarkets fell 2.6 per cent to $920 million.
Meanwhile, the company yesterday announced that Rob Scott (pictured) will be the next Wesfarmers Managing Director, succeeding Richard Goyder who will step down towards the end of 2017 after more than 12 years in the role.
Scott becomes the Group’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer effective immediately and will join the Board as Managing Director at the conclusion of the 2017 Annual General Meeting in November. He will maintain his current role as head of Wesfarmers’ Industrials division until 1 July 2017.