Myer’s strong online offering helped the department store sell the most merchandise in nearly two decades in 2022/23, although in recent months trading has weakened as consumers feel the pinch.

Myer on Thursday announced total sales of $3.37 billion for the 52 weeks to July 29, up 12.5 per cent from a year ago and the most since 2005.

Group online sales made up 20.5 per cent of all sales, up from nine per cent in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Excluding one-off costs related to store and distribution centre closures, Myer had a net profit after tax of $71.1 million, up 18.2 per cent year-on-year. Its statutory profit grew 23.3 per cent to $60.4 million.

CEO John King said while there had been softer trading in the fourth quarter, overall the results showed continued profitability and a strong balance sheet, providing a strong foundation for future plans.

Mr King said that Myers’ combined online and brick-and-mortar capabilities – its “multi-channel offer,” in retailing lingo – was creating synergies between the two categories.

“Our multi-channel offer is a key strength of these results as we capitalised on customers returning to stores after (COVID) closures in the prior year, underpinned by our leading customer loyalty proposition in Myer one,” Mr King said.

The company noted its Myer one reward program grew 10 per cent to 7.3 million members over the year, 4.2 million of whom had shopped at Myer in the past 12 months.

Myer sees loyalty rewards as becoming an increasingly important factor for Australians consumers, with those who have access to points spending significantly more than customers who don’t.

Fifty-nine per cent of all in-store customers searched myer.com.au before their purchase, and 74.6 per cent of purchases were “tagged” to a Myer one account, Myer said.

Sales growth moderated to 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, however, and same-store department store sales have been down 1.9 per cent for the first six weeks of fiscal 2024.

“Like all retailers, we continue to remain cautious about the macroeconomic environment,” Mr King said.

Myer finished the year with net cash of $119.6 million, down from $185.9 million a year ago.

It declared a fully-franked dividend of one cent per share, bringing its full-year dividend to nine cents per share, from four cents per share in 2021/22.

Myer also announced that chief financial officer Nigel Chadwick would be retiring in early 2024 and would be succeeded by deputy Mark Jackman. Mr King is also retiring around the second half of 2024, although no successor has yet been named.

Late on Thursday afternoon, Myer shares were up 0.4 per cent to 63.25c.

– AAP