Myer to unveil weak FY sales

Myer’s struggle to overcome sluggish consumer spending will be back under the spotlight today with the store giant expected to confirm a fall in sales amid its full-year results.

MYER’S struggle to overcome sluggish consumer spending will be back under the spotlight today, with the department store giant expected to confirm a fall in sales amid its full-year results.

Fierce rival David Jones last month called out falling consumer confidence as a major factor behind a 0.7 per cent fall in full-year comparable sales, and Myer looks set to suffer too.

Chief executive Richard Umbers has been trying to turn around the business for two years but Myer already warned in May that “challenging trading conditions” would continue to hurt sales.

The retailer reported a 3.3 per cent fall in its third quarter sales in May with comparable sales down 2 per cent.

Citi analyst Bryan Raymond wrote in a note that the second half was tough for David Jones and that Myer would likely have had a weaker performance. “David Jones and Myer’s stores and customers overlap in many parts of Australia,” he said last month.

Citi has forecast Myer’s comparable store sales to drop 2.8 per cent and for earnings before tax and interest to have slipped in the second half of the 2017 financial year.

The company expects underlying net profit to be in the range of $66 million to $70 million.