Warehouse shares halted pending company announcement
By Tina Morrison
July 24 (BusinessDesk) - Warehouse Group, known for its flagship 'red shed' discount department stores, had its shares
halted on the New Zealand stock exchange pending an announcement by the company.
The Auckland-based retailer offered no further details in its statement released before the exchange opened for trading
this morning.
Under the leadership of former chief executive Mark Powell, the Warehouse expanded its business beyond the general
merchandise 'red sheds' and stationery 'blue sheds' to include the Noel Leeming appliance and technology chain, the
Torpedo7 sports chain and a financial services unit. Under new chief executive Nick Grayston who took over in December
2015, Warehouse has focused on cutting costs by amalgamating its retail divisions, bundling its 'red sheds' with the
stationery division, and joining Torpedo7 with the Noel Leeming business.
In March, Warehouse posted a 76 percent drop in first-half profit to $13.6 million after taking an impairment charge
against its financial services unit, recognising restructuring costs and earning less from the 'red shed' stores. At the
time, it said weak trading had continued into the second half of the year and as a result, full-year adjusted profit was
forecast to be $54 million to $58 million, a drop of as much as 15 percent from a year earlier.
Warehouse shares last traded at $2.23 and have shed 15 percent over the past year.
(BusinessDesk)
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