Woolies sales inch up

The Woolworths Financial Services (WFS) debtors books have grown 1.2% year on year at the end of December 2009. The impairment rate for the period is 6.2% (2008: 7.0%).

The group confirmed that earnings per share (EPS) for the period will be between 15% and 25% lower than last year and estimate that headline earnings per share (HEPS) will be between 35% and 45% higher than the corresponding reporting period of the previous year.

HEPS has benefited from a reduced cost of sales due to the impact of the FEC's marked to market at June 2009. In addition, the prior year was negatively impacted by a R75m STC charge on the special dividend paid in December 2008, it said.

In November, Woolworths said it anticipated that EPS for the period would be more than 20% lower than the corresponding reporting period, primarily due to the profit of R380m earned on the disposal of a 50% plus one share interest of WFS to Absa Group in that period.

The group's results for the period are scheduled to be released on 18 February 2010.