Wesfarmers Limited
(ASX:WES) has boosted its first half profit by 11.2 per cent to $1.4 billion on the back of strong sales across its retail portfolio.
The conglomerate’s underlying result was aided by earnings from Coles, Bunnings and Officeworks helping to offset weakness from Target and its coal and industrial and safety divisions.
Across the sectors Coles earnings grew 10.7 per cent, Bunnings gained 8.5 per cent and Officeworks increased 10.5 per cent.
However, Target’s earnings dropped 52.7 per cent and the company’s earnings from its resources division fell 36.6 per cent and lost 17 per cent from its industrial and safety divisions.
A fully-franked interim dividend of 85 cents per share has been declared, lifting 10.4 per cent from the year before.
