(In 2nd paragraph, corrects earnings comparison figure to A$631 million, not A$618 million)
June 13 (Reuters) - Australia's Wesfarmers Ltd WES.AX on Thursday forecast a significant drop in core earnings for Kmart Group, its low-priced retail chain, because of an increase in price competition and cautious consumer sentiment.
The company now expects earnings before interest and tax and from continuing operations for Kmart Group for financial year 2019 to be between A$515 million and A$565 million ($356.90 million to $391.55 million), compared with A$631 million posted last year, Wesfarmers said in a statement. ($1 = 1.4430 Australian dollars)