By Byron Kaye, ZDNet News
17 October 2000

It's 10 months later but Y2K is still wreaking havoc on Coles Myer's bottom line.

The retail giant recently reported towering abnormal losses for the 1999-2000 financial year, with Y2K compliance, the GST and Web-related restructuring costs singled out as the major causes for expense.

Abnormals for the year totalled more than AU$260 million, representing an increase of more than four times that of the previous year, when the retailer reported abnormals of just AU$58 million - all attributed to Y2K.

This year, the retailer said it spent a further AU$9.2 million on compliance costs related to the millenium bug.

The retailer also spent AU$138.5 million on GST compliance, a non-existant expense the year before.

Coles Myer said in a statement that expenses related to GST compliance were "extensive and above planned levels, due to onerous regulatory and logistical issues associated with its (GST) introduction".

The company reported a spend of AU$24.9 million on restructuring its Direct Fulfilment Group to become Internet-enabled. That restructuring was centred around transforming the Myer Direct catalogue into an e-tail operation, Coles Myer said.

Other expenditure, related to the closure of underperforming business divisions, accounted for an additional AU$87.6 million in abnormals.

Coles Myer did not return ZDNet's calls for further comment by publishing time.

ZDNet

-- Anonymous, March 23, 2001