Coles’ parent company, Wesfarmers, has reported a full year profit of $2.26 billion for the year to June, with chief executive Richard Goyder defending fuel dockets in the face of an ACCC investigation.
Coles reported a 13.1% increase in earnings before interest and tax to $1.53 billion, with revenues up 4.8% to $35.78 billion.
Goyder also defends the use of shopper docket discounts on fuel in the face of criticism the practice harms smaller retailers.
“We try to give our customers what they want, and clearly they have a strong desire for these dockets at a time when they are under significant cost pressures in their daily lives,” Goyder says.
Packer hopes Japan will be the next jewel in the Crown
Crown executive chairman James Packer has expressed interest in bidding for a gaming licence in Japan if Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party goes ahead with granting licences for a Singapore-style casino resort.
“If Japan comes on it will be the second-biggest gaming market in the world. It has 100 million people who are all mad gamblers but they are all doing it through horse racing and pachinko. Japan is looking at the Singapore story,” Packer says.
“Japan is two to three years before it all gets serious, which is perfect for us because we will have Macau Studio City open and the Philippines open.
“Crown Perth will be finished and Crown Sydney should be well underway, approvals pending. It is just going through the political process at the moment in Japan.”
Dell reports 72% drop in quarterly earnings as PC sales crash
Dell has reported net income for the second quarter of $US204 million, down a massive 72% from $US732 million year-on-year.
“It was predictably bad. It’s not a big surprise that margins compressed to the degree that they did, when they’re prioritizing sales volume over profitability,” Morningstar analyst Carr Lanphier told Reuters.
The news comes as founder Michael Dell battles prominent investor Carl Icahn over the company’s future, with Dell hoping to take the company he founded private.
Overnight
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.47% to 15112.2. The Aussie dollar is up to US91.41 cents.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
