Bunnings earns a lot at home and loses a lot in the UK and Ireland

The Bunnings disaster in Great Britain and Ireland is primarily responsible for the decrease of Wesfarmers' profit in fiscal 2017/2018.

The DIY store chain Bunnings recorded an operating revenue of AUD 12.544 bn in Australia and New Zealand in financial year 2017/2018 (ending 30 June 2018). That is an increase of 8.9 per cent. The total store sales also grew by 8.9 per cent. The increase of store-on-store sales to the amount of 7.8 per cent was also responsible for this.

Sales by the Homebase and Bunnings stores in Great Britain, which were operated by Bunnings until their sale in June, were not shown separately in the latest publications from the parent company Wesfarmers. However the loss (in terms of the EBIT) of the commitment in Europe is entered for financial year 2017/2018 at AUD 266 mio; the year before it was AUD 89 mio. In contrast Bunnings made positive EBIT of AUD 1.504 bn in Australia and New Zealand.

The net profit after tax of the entire Wesfarmer group however has more than halved from AUD 2.873 bn in the previous year to AUD 1.197 bn. In addition to write-downs for the supermarket chain Target among other things, the Bunnings disaster in Great Britain and Ireland is primarily responsible for this. Losses, write-downs and costs of closures to the amount of AUD 1.023 bn (post-tax) and AUD 375 bn loss on disposal are listed.