Coles Myer has released a stunning fiscal 2005 result with after tax profits up more than 17 per cent despite the company’s ailing Megamart stores costing it a whopping $38.5 million in loses.

Sales for the group which include Coles, Kmart, Target, OfficeWorks and Liqourland grew by 13.3% to reach a staggering $36.6 billion.

Chief Executive John Fletcher has delivered for the company a stunning result that includes a return on investment that has doubled since 2001 increasing 17.6 per cent since last year to reach 24.1 per cent.

After tax profit is up 17.6 per cent to $678.1 million and shareholders will be happy with a dividend which has grown by nearly 15 per cent. They will receive 33.25 cents per share.

“This year’s double-digit sales and earnings growth has been achieved in the most challenging year this team has faced,” Fletcher said.

“In the 12 months following the removal of shareholder discount, we experienced a highly competitive retail market as consumer spending tightened and while the business undertook significant transformational change,” he said.

“The Group was able to meet the high end of its guidance despite lower than anticipated earnings from Myer, which was impacted by tough trading conditions in the second half, and a significant loss by Megamart.”

Both the Myer chain and its nine Megamart stores are slated to go with the company saying it has had experssions of interest in the Myer chain.

Although Myer revenues grew by 2.1 per cent for the year, EBIT earnings fell substantially while Megamart sales actually fell over the previous year prompting the company to put aside more than $80 million dollars to handle the loss it will incur divesting itself of the failing business.