Myer reports Q3 flat sales
Myer Holdings Ltd reported flat sales for the third quarter of 2010 but reaffirmed its full year guidance.
Myer posted $671 million total sales for three months to April 24, a 0.3 per cent rise from previous corresponding period.
For the nine months to April 24 total sales grew by 1.4 per cent to $2.47 billion and like-for-like sales were up 0.9 per cent on the same period last year.
"This is a pleasing result in the context of a very challenging trading environment where we cycled the federal government's second, larger stimulus payments and saw the impact of further interest rate rises on consumer discretionary spending," Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The department store chain said it expects a "challenging" fourth quarter but reiterated full-year sales are expected to increase one per cent to two per cent to between $3.29 billion and $3.33 billion, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) are forecast to grow 10.7 per cent to $261 million.
"In anticipation of facing tough trading conditions in the third quarter, we pulled a number of levers to drive traffic and sales, including successfully utilising our MYER one loyalty program to engage our customers with relevant promotional offers," Brookes said.
Brookes said Myer's store expansion program is on track with two new stores opening in the next few months, one each in New South Whales and Queensland. He also announced the signing of an additional store in the Lakeside Joondalup centre in the northern suburbs of Perth.