When the company rebounds, dividends will return. Retail has been under pressure for some time now, both locally and abroad.
The cancellation of the dividend, while very disappointing for investors, should not have come as a surprise. Inflation and declining consumer sentiment were blamed as the predominant drivers of the decline. Grocery and The Warehouse (''The Red Shed'') both saw modest improvements on some metrics, while the other brands - Noel Leemings, Torpedo7 and TheMarket all saw a deterioration, in some instances a severe deterioration. The headline result - record sales, but lower margins and higher costs - disappointed the market and sent the share price tumbling near 10%. The Warehouse has published its annual results, announcing a lower profit and cancelling its dividend.
