Why it matters: The August reporting season provides a snapshot of the economy’s health.
Commodity price weakness has toppled 2023-24 forecasts for resources producers.
But domestic facing companies are doing better than expected, including Wesfarmers.
Australian companies have defied expectations that they would be hit by slowing demand, delivering strong results during earnings season and raising expectations that most of the economy could sidestep emerging troubles in China.
Rob Scott, the chief executive of Bunnings-parent Wesfarmers, which advanced 3.2 per cent on Friday after a 4.8 per cent increase in annual profit to $2.465 billion, said population growth, favourable unemployment and housing demand would offset the risks posed by industrial relations reform and persistent inflation.
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Tom Richardson writes and comments on markets including equities, debt, crypto, software, banking, payments, and regulation. He worked in asset management at Bank of New York Mellon and is a member of the CFA Society of the UK as a holder of the Investment Management Certificate. Connect with Tom on Twitter. Email Tom at tom.richardson@afr.com
Carrie LaFrenz is a senior journalist covering retail/consumer goods. She previously covered healthcare/biotech. Carrie has won multiple awards for her journalism including financial journalist of the year from The National Press Club. Connect with Carrie on Twitter. Email Carrie at carrie.lafrenz@afr.com
