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Retailer Postie Plus Group says aggressive restructuring and extremely difficult trading conditions in the second half of this year will result in a full year trading loss of between $6.5 million and $7.5 million.
In addition, with the sale of loss-making Arbuckles there was an extraordinary one-off write-off loss of $2.4m to $2.6m relating primarily to goodwill, the company said today.
The trading loss included one-off costs relating to initiatives announced in November which would improve financial performance in future years.
Those initiatives included the relocation of the Westport distribution centre to Christchurch, which was now delivering significant benefits.
Costs savings had been made at head office, non-performing brands had been closed, and stock levels reduced by $14m.
Chairman Peter van Rij said the company had needed to take some hard decisions to reposition the Postie brand into the rapidly changing retail environment.
Despite the poor result, the company had retained market share and maintained good cash flows, which was important in difficult trading conditions.
Postie Plus shares were down 1c to 39c, shortly after the market opened today, having ranged between 89c and 38c in the past year.
- NZPA
