Best & Less Group is expecting net profit after tax (NPAT) of $10 million to $12 million in the second half of fiscal 2023.
The discount department store issued pro forma NPAT guidance of between $18 million and $20 million in its first half results.
Best & Less reported that trading conditions were inconsistent through March and April, before improving in the lead-up to May.
Total sales were $221.9 million for the 19 weeks of trading ending at May 14, up +1.8% on the prior corresponding period (PCP). Like-for-like (LFL) sales were down -1.4%, with store LFL sales up +0.4% and online sales down -18.2%.
May LFL sales are -1.8% below the PCP with core non-discretionary product lines continuing to perform well, according to Best & Less.
“While trading conditions have remained inconsistent as consumer confidence has been at historic lows, we had a strong Mother’s Day,” Best & Less Group executive chair Jason Murray said.
“With the Federal budget expected to provide some much-needed relief for our core customers and a further four new stores due to open before the end of the calendar year, we are optimistic about the outlook for sales growth.
“We expect to see the benefits of lower product and shipping costs begin to flow through in the first half of FY24 and we will remain focused on tightly controlling our cost base to preserve profitability.”