Teresa Ooi
The Australian
March 30, 2012
METCASH faces potential impairment charges if management recommendations are accepted by the board on Monday.
Australia’s biggest grocery wholesaler today placed its shares in a trading halt, pending Monday’s board meeting.
The meeting was called to discuss management recommendation that may lead to impairment charges, and therefore the company’s bottom line.
Metcash said in a statement today: “A trading halt is requested pending a board meeting on Monday to consider management recommendations which, if agreed to by the board, could result in impairment charges.”
Metcash reported a net profit of $94.4 million in the six months to October 2011, which represented a fall of 14.3 per cent from the previous corresponding period.
It forecast earnings per share growth in the low to mid-single digits for the full year.
Chief executive Andrew Reitzer said the company was facing its worst year in a decade as price deflation, over-supply of produce and the price war between supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles placed enormous pressure on the company.
Metcash acquired 80 Franklins grocery stores for $215m last year.
Shares in Metcash closed at $4.30 before the trading halt.
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