News: MYR UPDATE 1-Australia's Myer Holdings posts annual loss as COVID-19 curbs hit sales

(Recasts with details, background, outlook)

Sept 10 (Reuters) - Australia's Myer Holdings Ltd (MYR) on Thursday reported an annual loss as reduced footfall and store closures due to coronavirus-induced restrictions impacted its sales during the second half, outweighing strong online sales performance.

The department store firm now expects low foot traffic to continue for the foreseeable future at its central business district stores, which are some of its largest stores with high associated rents, it said in a statement.

For the year ended July 25, net loss after tax excluding one-time costs and impairment charges was A$11.3 million ($8.23 million), compared with a profit of A$33.2 million a year earlier.

While supermarket sales across the globe were boosted by hoarding during initial stages of the pandemic and a jump in in-home consumption, brick-and-mortar clothing retailers have experienced a plunge in sales from reduced footfall at malls.

Myer was forced to shut down all its stores and temporarily lay off 10,000 employees for most of April amid restrictions due to the virus outbreak. It reopened most of them in May, only to close them once more in Melbourne in August due to a resurgence of the outbreak.

The 120-year-old company's online sales, however, nearly doubled in the second half of the year, cushioning the blow from store closures to a degree.

Sales on a comparable store basis, which excludes store openings and closures, were down 3.3% for the year, while total sales fell 15.8% to A$2.52 billion.

The company did not declare a final dividend for a third straight year.

($1 = 1.3736 Australian dollars)