What: The Australian department store operator revealed a six-month profit of AU $32.3 million ($23.7 million) on sales of AU $1.52 billion and confirmed it would pay its first dividend since 2017.

Why it is important: A combination of the online platform and store network were key contributions to the results, especially during the challenging Covid closures.

The chief executive John King reported a 15.2% increase in sales across the first five weeks trading into the second half, which was enough to push the company’s share price up 24.4%.

When stores were forced to close because of Covid, customers moved online resulting in a 47.5% boost in e-commerce sales. The e-commerce business now accounts for 27.9% of overall sales.

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