The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has tumbled 19% since the beginning of the year.
This comes as the retail conglomerate experienced challenging trading conditions due to tough macroenvironmental challenges.
At Monday's market close, Wesfarmers shares finished the day 1.53% lower to $48.17.
It's worth noting that its shares reached a 52-week low of $40.03 on 17 June before recovering some lost ground.
What happened to Wesfarmers last earnings season?
When the company delivered its half-year results to the market on 17 February, the Wesfarmers share price tanked 7.4%.
And the bloodshed didn't stop there. In a matter of days, the shares dropped to a low of $47.445 on 24 February, representing a 13.6% decline from 17 February.
This came as investors were disappointed with the earnings result as COVID-19 government-mandated restrictions heavily impacted store trading days.
Looking back at the financial scorecard, Wesfarmers delivered revenue of $17,758 million, a 0.1% decrease over the prior corresponding period.
Wesfarmers achieved earnings, before interest and tax (EBIT) of $1,905 million, down 12.3%.
On the bottom line, the group posted a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1,213 million, a 14.2% plunge.
Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott had this to say about the results:
The first half of the 2022 financial year was the most disrupted period for our businesses since the onset of COVID-19, with extended government-mandated store closures and trading restrictions in Australia and New Zealand. The Group also made significant investments in the half to support our team members, through payroll support and assistance programs, to help manage the significant personal impacts from extended lockdowns.
… Across the Group's retail businesses there were around 34,000 store trading days impacted by trading restrictions, representing almost 20 per cent of total store trading days for the half. This included more than 20,000 store days for which stores were completely closed to customers. In addition, operating costs and stock availability were impacted by ongoing supply chain disruptions and elevated team member absenteeism.
Is the Wesfarmers share price a buy?
A recent note released by Goldman Sachs said it believes Wesfarmers will achieve single-digit increases across its key metrics.
The broker is forecasting total revenue to come in at $35,191 million, up 5.1% year-on-year.
Furthermore, group EBIT is expected to reach $3,614 million, up 6.5%.
On the bottom line, underlying NPAT is projected to stand at $2,295 million, up 7.4%.
Goldman Sachs is also anticipating the Wesfarmers board to declare a final dividend of 92 cents per share. This would bring the full-year dividend to 172 cents per share, down 3.1% on FY 2021.
Its analysts currently have a sell rating on the conglomerate's shares with a price target of $35.90. Based on the current share price, this implies a downside of 25%.
Wesfarmers is scheduled to report its full-year earnings for FY 2022 this Friday, 26 August.
