Iconic retailer Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) has cut its final dividend to zero and plunged to a major loss driven by write-downs after a lacklustre year of trading.
The $1.1 billion company posted sales growth of just 0.5% for FY25, saying its sales proved "resilient" while soft macroeconomic conditions impacted profitability.
Myer's underlying net profit came in at $36.8 million, down 30% on FY24, while the statutory result was a net loss of $211.2 million, driven by the write-down of goodwill of new division Myer Apparel Brands.
During the year, Myer acquired five fashion brands from Premier Investments, picking up Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti, and Jacqui-E in return for issuing 890.5 million new shares to Premier, which then contributed $82 million back to Myer.
Myer also booked $34.7 million in further negative significant items, "reflecting a period of significant transition and merger integration''.
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Turnaround time for retailer
Myer Chief Executive Officer Olivia Wirth said FY25 was a "transition year" for the company.
Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions and tough retail markets in Australia and New Zealand, we achieved positive sales growth in our first period as a combined Group. We are making significant progress in executing our strategy for the Myer Group, building a diversified omni-channel retail powerhouse to drive growth and deliver sustainable returns for shareholders. There is real momentum building across the business thanks to the energy, strong engagement, and focus of dedicated team members in implementing important changes while achieving high customer satisfaction.
Ms Wirth said the company would be relaunching the Myer One loyalty program in October and said member numbers were now up to a record 4.7 million.
And while FY25 was a difficult year with "challenging macroeconomic conditions and rising costs of doing business", the tide was starting to turn.
By contrast, our trading for the first seven weeks of FY26 has been positive and we are cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, with emerging pockets of improving consumer strength. We also expect to see a return on the enhancements and investments we have made to strengthen the Group and offset ongoing cost of doing business headwinds.
Myer's total sales were $3.67 billion, up 0.5% on the previous year.
Dividend future uncertain
The company said that during FY25, it had completed a strategic review and developed and launched the Myer Group Growth Strategy, "a comprehensive plan for sustainable growth to FY29".
The company did not give any guidance as to when it would resume dividend payments.
