11 Mar 2011

Warehouse half-year profit down nearly 9%

2:01 pm on 11 March 2011

The Warehouse's half-year profit has fallen, on the back of tight consumer spending and continued decline in the sales of CDs and DVDs.

The country's largest listed retailer made $52.3 million in the six months to the end of January, down by 8.9% on the same period the previous year.

Sales across the group dropped by 1.2% to $908 million.

Sales at the so-called Red Sheds open more than a year slipped by 2.5%, while sales at Warehouse Stationery stores rose by 3%.

Chief executive Ian Morrice says the drop in the sales of CDs and DVDs was significant but sales were also impacted by a reduction in households' discretionary spending because of higher fuel and food prices.

The retailer has declared an interim dividend of 15.5 cents a share.