Wesfarmers H1 Profit Rises 9.3%

Wesfarmers (OTC:

) reported a 9.3% rise in its first-half net profit. Wesfarmers' net profit for the period surged to 1.29 billion Australian dollars (US$1.34 billion), from A$1.18 billion, in the year-ago period. However, analysts were expecting a profit of A$1.26 billion. Wesfarmers announced its plans to pay an interim dividend of 77 Australian cents per share, versus 70 Australian cents per share in the previous year. Wesfarmers shares closed at $19.76 yesterday.