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Myer Holdings Limited (ASX:MYR) has improved its sales but its interim profit has sunk as it battled against higher rent, labour and the cost of new and refurbished stores.
The department store retailer’s first half net profit dropped 8.1 per cent to $80.77 million in the same period total sales rose 0.3 per cent to $1.737 billion.
CEO Bernie Brookes says the company has made good progress in executing its five-point plan and has delivered comparable store sales growth in six of the last seven quarters.
Looking ahead Myer remains cautious about the trading environment due to pressure on discretionary income and uncertain consumer sentiment.
The report comes just one day after rival retailer David Jones Limited (ASX:DJS) reported a 3.8 per cent rise in its first half revenue but a 4.6 per cent fall in its net profit.
Both companies have been in the centre of merger speculation since Myer approached David Jones for a potential $3 billion tie-up in October 2013.
Myer has declared a fully-franked interim dividend of 9 cents per share.
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