Shift in Christmas week will hit Woolies’ earnings
In a trading guidance to investors yesterday, Woolworths warned that both earnings and headline earnings a share would slide as much as 20percent for the 26 weeks to the end of December – including the impact of accounting standards.
Woolworths said the shift in the trading weeks had resulted in the Christmas week, including Boxing Day – which was a significant trading day in Australia – falling into the first half of the current year, compared with the second half of the prior year.
“In South Africa, the constrained economic environment, exacerbated by the disruption to trade caused by power outages and unseasonal weather in parts of the country, contributed to slower December trade,” the company said.
Woolworths reported that fashion, beauty and home sales and comparable store sales had grown 2.2percent and 0.9percent after adjusting for the shift in trading weeks.
Source: iol.co.za