Australia's Myer faces worst session in a year on weak forecast

Myer Holdings

08/08/2024 05:00

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Shares of Australia's Myer Holdings
 MYR.AX  fell nearly 9% on Thursday and were on track for their
worst day in a year, after the department store chain forecast a
drop in annual profit amid what it called a difficult trading
environment.
    The stock declined as much as 8.9%, heading for its biggest
one-day drop since Aug. 8, 2023 in heavy trade. More than 3.1
million shares had changed hands by 0348 GMT, compared with the
30-day average of 1.4 million shares.
    Myer projected a net profit after tax between A$50 million
and A$54 million ($32.76 million-$35.38 million) for 2023/24, a
significant drop from the previous year's A$71.1 million, and
sales of A$3,266 million, a near 3% fall.
        The retailer, which operates 56 department stores across
the country, cited challenging trading environment, store
closures and inflationary cost pressures for its weak
performance.
    Executive Chairman Olivia Wirth said the underperformance of
wholly owned fashion brands Sass & Bide, Marcs and David
Lawrence also attributed to the parent company's bleak
performance in 2024.
    Olivia also noted progress in a strategic review of the
business, as well as in exploring combinations with Premier
Investments'  PMV.AX  Apparel Brands. 
    
($1 = 1.5265 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Rajasik  Mukherjee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Rajasik.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com;))