Comprehensive Financial Analysis of Westfarmers Retail Divisions

This report provides a detailed financial analysis of Westfarmers' retail businesses, examining their performance across various divisions including Coles, Bunnings (Home Improvement), Kmart & Target (Department Stores), and Officeworks. The analysis compares key financial metrics such as revenue, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), capital employed, and return on capital employed for the years 2016 and 2017. The report identifies the best performing divisions and discusses the sustainability efforts of each business, exploring their approaches to responsible sourcing, community involvement, and environmental impact. Furthermore, the report includes an analysis of accrual accounting versus cash accounting methods. The report concludes with a summary of the financial performance and sustainability initiatives of Westfarmers.

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Question 1
Westfarmers retail businesses financial results comparison
Introduction
The following section compares financial results for different retail businesses of Westfarmers
Group. The Westfarmers Group originated from Western Australian farmer’s cooperative that
was founded in 1914. Westfarmers is among the largest listed companies in Australia stick
Exchange (ASX) and largest private employer in Australia. Westfarmers Limited aims to provide
satisfactory returns to its shareholders. The conglomeration is led by Richard Goyder as the
managing director and Michael Chaney as the chairman. Westfarmers limited recorded revenues
amounting to $68444 million in 2017 FY from $65981 million in 2016 FY. The company net
profits for 2017 FY were $2873 million which was 22.1% increase from previous financial year.
The company paid $2.23 dividend per share for 2017 FY from $1.86 in 2016 financial year. The
write-up focuses on each individual division of Westfarmers financial results. The divisions
include; Coles, Department Stores, Home Improvements, and office Works. The write up will
use financial results for 2016 and 2017 financial years. The write-up will aim to establish best
financial performing retail business in Westfarmers group.
Coles
Cole started in Collingwood in 1914 and has grown over the years to be one of the largest and
iconic Australian retailers. The division operates Coles Express, Spirit Hotels, Coles
Supermarkets, Vintage Cellars, Liquorland, Coles online, and Coles Financial Services. Coles
recorded revenues amounting to $39217 million in 2017 FY which is slightly lower compared to
$39242 million in 2016 FY. The earnings before interest and tax amounted to $1609 million that
was a 13.5% decline from 2016 FY that recorded $1860 million.
Home Improvements
Bunnings was acquired by Westfarmers in 1994. Bunnings is an international warehouse of
household hardware with chains in New Zealand, United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. The
Bunnings is the market leader in home improvement retail in New Zealand and Australia and

second largest home improvement retailer in Ireland and United Kingdom. The division recorded
$13586 million revenues that were 17.4% increase from 2016 FY that had recorded $11571
million. The Home Improvement division earnings before tax and interest rate increased to
$1245 million in 2017 FY from $1214 million in 2016 financial year.
Departmental Stores
The Westfarmers department Stores division was started in February 2016. It was a combination
of target and Kmart stores. The Department Stores operates 774 stores in Australia and New
Zealand. Kmart deals with home-wears, clothing, and general merchandize and operates 220
stores in New Zealand and Australia. Target also deal with the same products as Kmart and
operates 303 stores and an online store. The Department Store recorded revenues that amounted
to $8528 million that was lower compared to previous financial year that recorded $8646
million. The division also recorded $543 million earnings before tax and interest rates that were
higher to 2016 FY that recorded at $275 million.
Officework
The Officeworks division first opened in 1994 in Richmond. The division is a market leader in
supply of office products and solutions in Australia. The Officework 2017 FY revenues
amounted to $1964 million an increase from $1851 million in 2016 FY. The division also
recorded an increase in earnings before interest rates and tax to $144 million in 2017 FY from
$134 million in 2016 FY.
Comparison
The Westfarmers retail businesses financial performance will be compared in terms of revenue,
earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), capital employed, and ratio of return on capital
employed.
Revenues
Revenues are the total amount of income received from sale of products less returned products.
The higher the revenue the more sales a company or unit made in a specified period of time.

Division Revenues ($M)
Financial Year
2017 2016
Coles 39217 39242
Home
Improvement
13586 11571
Department
Stores
8528 8646
Officework 1964 1851
Coles division has the largest amount of revenue while Officework has the lowest amount of
revenue recorded for both financial years. Both Coles and Department Stores revenues declined
in 2017 FY form 2016 FY. The Home Improvement and Officework division revenues increased
in 2017 FY from 2016 FY. The Home Improvement division recorded the highest increase in
revenues while Department Stores recorded the largest decline in revenue in 2017 FY from 2016
FY.
Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)
EBIT is a profitability measurement of a company that calculates operating profits without
considering tax implications and cost of capital (Gitman, Juchau, & Flanagan, 2015). It is total
revenue less operating expenses and cost of goods sold. The EBIT shows the ability of a
company to earn profit.
Division EBIT ($M)
Financial Year

2017 2016
Coles 1609 1860
Home
Improvemen
t
1245 1214
Department
Stores
543 275
Officework 144 134
From the comparison table, Coles has the highest EBIT while Officework has the lowest.
Department Stores recorded the highest increase in EBIT in 2017 FY from 2016 FY. Coles is the
only division that recorded a decline in EBIT recorded in 2017 FY from 2016 FY.
Capital employed
Capital employed refers to amount of capital that a company or business unit uses to earn profits
(Grubnic, 2014). It all assets employed and are calculated by adding working capital to fixed
assets or total assets less current liabilities.
Division Capital Employed ($M)
Financial Year
2017 2016
Coles 16586 16541
Home
Improvemen
4110 3599

t
Department
Stores
2253 3629
Officework 980 994
Coles division recorded the highest amount of capital employed in 2017 FY with Officework
recording the lowest. Coles and Home Improvement divisions increased the capital used in the
financial year while Officework and Department Stores capital use was reduced. Home
Improvement had the highest capital employed increased in 2017 FY years from 2016 FY while
on the other side Departmental Stores had the highest reduction in capital employed for the same
period.
Return to Capital Employed
The following ratio is a financial measurement of profitability and efficiency at which capital is
employed (Scott, 2015).
Division Return to Capital Employed
(%)
Financial Year
2017 2016
Coles 9.7 11.2
Home
Improvemen
t
30.3 33.7
Department 24.1 7.6

Stores
Officework 14.7 13.5
From the comparison table, Home improvement has the highest return on capital employed
percentage while Coles has the least return on capital employed percentage. Department Stores
return to capital employed tripled from 2016 FY to 2017 FY. Department Stores and Officework
divisions increased their rate of return to capital employed while Home improvement and Coles
return on capital employed declined in 2017 FY from 2016 FY.
Conclusion
Among the four divisions of Westfarmers, Coles had the largest revenue in 2017 FY while
Officework has the least revenue. Home improvement division recorded the highest increase in
revenue received for 2017 FY. Coles had the largest EBIT while Officework had the small EBIT.
Department Stores recorded the highest EBIT margin in 2017 FY. Coles division employed the
highest amount of capital in 2017 FY. Department Stores significantly reduced capital
employment for the 2017 FY. Lastly, Home Improvement division had the highest percentage of
return on capital employed. Therefore it can be concluded that Home Improvement was the most
profitable division for 2017 financial year in the Wesfarmers Group.
Question 2
The following section analysis Westfarmers’ retail businesses sustainability report to find out
how they show sustainability. Wesfarmers recognizes the importance of sustainable approach
and is a member of Dow Jones sustainability Indices (Antonini, 2016). This shows that the
Group is conscious about humanity and conservation of the environment. The Wesfarmers
discloses sustainability on employees, source of raw materials in supply chain, communities
where the company operates, the impact of the company to the environment, and corporate

governance in the company (Schaltegger, Etxeberria, & Ortas, 2017). The following discussion
aim to rate the Wesfarmers retail businesses sustainability. These retail businesses are Coles,
Department Stores, Officeworks, and Home Improvement.
Coles
Coles provides groceries, fresh food, liquor, general merchandise, fuel and financial services.
The retail business operate 801 supermarkets, 72 convenience outlets, 89 hotels and employ a
team of 106000 members. Coles pay attention on several activities that enhance sustainability in
their business. First, Coles enhance responsible sources by collaborating with suppliers.
Collaboration enables the business to help suppliers become more efficient and deliver great
products to their stores and pass the benefits to its customers. Secondly, Coles rolled out an app-
based Coles Farm Program that aim to support and improve sustainability on farm operations
through enhanced environmental monitoring, traceability and employee training (Shauki, 2016).
Coles has implemented country of origin labeling to enhance transparency. Another ethical
practice of Coles is ethical sourcing. The Coles ensures minimum potential of human and labour
rights violations are happening in its supply chain.
Home Improvement
Bunnings lead in retail home improvements and outdoor living products. The business is
involved in several material issues that relate to sustainability in 2017 FY. First the business
ensures that it maintains support both internally and wider community to grow community
involvement in a localized, meaningful, and sincere manner (Lawley, Birch, & Craig, 2016).
Secondly, the business ensures that it maintains strong processes for product sourcing to verify
that they meet requirements of both local and global standards. Thirdly, the Bunnings business
maintains where feasible minimum water consumption through waste recycling and reduction
and finding new methods of reducing reliance on grid-sourced energy (Schaffartzik,
Wiedenhofer, & Eisenmenger, 2015). This reduces overall carbon footprint. Another sustainable
related issue in Bunnings is employees’ safety. The business division strives to ensure all
employees go home safe.

Development Stores
Development Stores include Kmart and Target stores that deal with clothing, house wears, and
general merchandise. The Stores have diverse range of suppliers who are spread in different parts
of the world. The Department Store is involved in several activities that can be termed as
sustainable. First, the business ensures safety and quality standards are prioritized in their
products. The business is committed to consistently complying with its safety and quality
standards. Secondly, the business is committed to ethical sourcing of services and products to
ensure its supply chain meets high standards of sustainability. Thirdly, Department Stores
embrace inclusivity and diverse cultures in the business. Another sustainable related activity in
the Department Stores is use of natural resources efficiently. This minimizes exploitation of
natural resources.
Officeworks
The Officeworks lead office products and solutions retail market. The business has 164 stores
and an online platform around Australia with over 7000 employees. Officework sustainability
report show several activities focused to sustainability. First, the business ensures responsible
sourcing of wood fibre that is widely used in it products. Secondly, the business is committed to
keeping employees safe in their work places. Thirdly, the Officework supports local
communities to solve their problem such as paying school fees to needy students. Officework is
also committed to reducing operations and products that have environmental impact.
Summary
From the sustainability report review, different retail businesses have different methods of
enhancing sustainability in their operations and products. This shows that the retail businesses
not only focus on achieving high revenues but have a holistic approach that takes into
considerations of all stakeholders. The Wesfarmers retail businesses can therefore be rated
excellent in terms of upholding high standards of sustainability to different stakeholders and the
environment.

Question 3
6.33
(a)
Racey Business
Accrued Income statement
For the year ending 30 June
Item Amount ($)
sales 282200
Cost of goods sold 158000
Gross profits 124200
Expenses
Salary and wages 28400
Depreciation 7200
Rent 9200
Insurance 573
Advertising 8560
Administration 18800
Interest 4760
Other expense 9960
Net Profit 36747
(b) As a financial statements user, accrual accounting is better than cash accounting. Accrual
accounting refers to a method of accounting where expenses and revenues are recorded when
they are incurred without considering when cash is exchanged (Eulner, & Waldbauer, 2018).
This method requires transactions to be recorded when they occur with the assumption that there
is high probability that the cash will be collected. On the other side, cash accounting refers to a

system where financial transaction are recorded when cash is received (Ball, Gerakos,
Linnainmaa, & Nikolaev, 2016). Cash accounting is simple to use because it does not need
adjustments when closing accounts. Accrual method of accounting is preferable because of the
following factors; first, accrual accounting system enables recognition of revenues and expenses
when they happen. The system ensures transactions are recognized when they happen without
waiting for cash payment. This is important for businesses that buy and sell products on credit.
Secondly, accrual accounting enhances accuracy of transactions in a business. The method
ensure transactions are accurately recorded when they happen that ensures there is no ambiguity
or underestimation of revenues and expenses. This is difference from cash accounting that leads
to underestimation of expenses and revenues as account receivables and account payables are not
recorded (Bushman, Lerman, & Zhang, 2016). Another reason accrual accounting is preferred is
that it leads to better measurement of profitability. Accural method of accounting matches
revenues and expenses as they occur within a specified account period. Therefore, accrual
accounting is preferable to users of financial information because it reflects the true state of
financial performance of an entity enhancing infored financial decision.

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