(Adds background, CEO comment, details on retail industry)
Feb 9 (Reuters) - Australian department store operator Myer Holdings Ltd MYR.AX said on Friday it expects first-half profit to fall more than 34 percent and flagged a possible impairment charge, sending its shares to a record low in morning trade.
The embattled retailer gave no indication of the size of the possible writedown, and added it did not expect an improvement in retail trading conditions during the second half.
First-half net profit after tax would likely be in the range of A$37 million to A$41 million ($29 million to $32 million), compared to A$62.8 million over the same period last year, it said. Half-year sales were down 3.6 percent to A$1.72 billion.
Myer shares fell as much as 12.1 percent to a record low of A$0.567, while the benchmark index .AXJO was down 1.8 percent.
"The significant deterioration in trading reflects ongoing challenging retail conditions with widespread industry discounting, a subdued performance of Myer's stocktake sale," Chief Executive Officer Richard Umbers said.
Myer, like other retailers in Australia, is struggling to compete with new online rivals including Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O . largest shareholder this week proposed a meeting of shareholders to vote on replacing the company's board. = 1.2860 Australian dollars)