Wesfarmers' annual profit rises on value-driven offers at retail divisions

The apparel-to-lithium conglomerate's net profit after tax excluding significant items came in at A$2.87 billion ($2.06 billion) for the full year ended June 30 — higher than the previous year's A$2.65 billion as well as the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$2.84 billion.

The 112-year-old conglomerate declared a final dividend of A$1.20 per share, higher than A$1.11 apiece last year.

($1 = 1.3945 Australian dollars)

Australia's biggest non-food retailer Wesfarmers WES.AX reported an 8.3% rise in its full-year profit on Thursday, helped by strong performances at its Bunnings hardware unit and Kmart budget department store chain.

High interest rates and cost-of-living pressure drove more customers toward Wesfarmers' value-led retail offers, supporting sales volumes at Kmart and Bunnings.

Continued productivity savings helped Wesfarmers keep prices competitive while cushioning margins.