Australia's Myer expects swing to profit as online sales jump

Australian retailer Myer Holdings Ltd forecast an annual profit for fiscal 2021 on Thursday, compared with a loss it reported last year, helped by a surge in online sales and benefits from government support schemes and rent waivers.

Store closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic-led curbs early last year had severely hurt the 120-year-old high street retailer, forcing it to depend on the government’s JobKeeper payment scheme.

The company had said in March it received A$51 million as part of the JobKeeper scheme and was granted A$18 million in rent waivers related to store closures.

Myer now expects online sales to rise about 28% to A$539.5 million (US$397.5 million) and make up a fifth of its total revenue in fiscal 2021, while total sales for the year are projected to increase 5.5%.

It also forecast net profit after tax to be between A$47 million and A$50 million for the year ending July, compared with a net loss of A$11.3 million in fiscal 2020 and a A$33.2 million profit in 2019.

Last month, Myer’s top investor Premier Investments said it had begun talks with fellow shareholders to revamp the company’s board. Premier has been critical of Myer’s strategy to shore up profitability through the years.

Shares of the company’s jumped as much as 10.6% to A$0.52, their highest since Dec. 5, 2019.