(Adds detail on forecast, background)
Jan 17 (Reuters) - Australian retail conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd (WES) on Monday said it expects to report first-half net profit after tax between A$1.18 billion ($851.72 million) and A$1.24 billion, a drop from last year's A$1.41 billion hurt by coronavirus-induced restrictions.
The Kmart Group, one of the top revenue-contributing units of Wesfarmers, lost about a quarter of its store trading days during the first half of fiscal 2022 because of restrictions the country faced due to rising community transmission of the coronavirus, the conglomerate said https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02475988-6A1072414?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4.
A reduction in foot traffic along with rising COVID-19 related costs impacted profitability of the merchandise retailer Kmart Group, which generated about 32% of revenue in fiscal 2021 https://sitefinity.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/reports/2021---wesfarmers-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=9d9111bb_2.
For the fiscal half-year ended December 31, 2021, the Kmart Group's earnings before significant items and payroll remediation costs is expected to be between A$170 million and A$180 million, sharply lower than last year https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/asx-announcements/2021-half-year-report-incorporating-appendix-4d.pdf?sfvrsn=bf520fbb_0 's A$502 million.
The Perth-based conglomerate, which is set to buy https://www.reuters.com/article/api-ma-woolworths-grp-idCNL4N2TM3S3 Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) for A$763.6 million after a months long bidding war, expects COVID-19 related costs to continue to put pressure as long as new infections rise.
($1 = 1.3854 Australian dollars) (([email protected]; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar;))
