South African retailer Woolworths Holdings has lowered its earnings per share forecast for its full year despite booking an increase in second-half sales.
For the 26 weeks to December 2009, group sales increased by 9.3% compared to the same period in the previous year. Comparable-store sales growth for the period was 4.4%.
The firm’s food division experienced sales growth of 8.9%; comparable sales rose 4.7%.
However, Woolworths said it expects EPS for the full-year to be between 15% and 25% lower than last year. In November, the firm said it anticipated EPS to be more than 20% lower.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The lower target is due to the profit of ZAR380m (US$50.2m) earned on the disposal of a stake of Woolworths Financial Services to ABSA Group last year.
Nonetheless, Woolworths expects headline earnings per share for the year to be between 35% and 45% higher than a year earlier due to reduced costs after the impact of Forward Exchange Contracts (FEC) marked to market at June 2009.
In addition, the prior year was hit by a ZAR75m STC (Secondary Tax on Companies) charge on the special dividend paid in December 2008.
Woolworths’ full-year finanical results will be released on 18 February.
