 As reported by Fairfax Media, Lowe’s, which owns a 33 per cent stake in the Masters joint venture, booked a $US17 million ($22 million) loss on its stake in the three months ending April .
Fairfax reported that Deutsche Bank estimates the joint venture lost a record $66 million in total in the quarter, which compares with $36.1 million in the December quarter and $55.8 million in the third quarter last year. The figures point to annualised losses from the joint venture of just over $200 million, Fairfax reported, compared with losses of $169 million in 2014, taking losses over the last three years to well over $500 million. “The significant acceleration in the loss is a disappointing outcome, but is not surprising given the average sales run rate per store appeared to deteriorate to $A17.5 million in the recent third quarter sales result,” Fairfax reported Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Simotas as stating. “At this rate, we estimate the JV could report a loss of more than $200 million in 2015.” |
