Aug 20 (Reuters) - Australia's Wesfarmers Ltd WES.AX on Thursday reported a 7.4% rise in annual profit as online sales surged at its hardware and stationery chains during coronavirus lockdowns, offsetting a subdued performance at its discount department stores.
Excluding one-time charges, the retail-to-chemicals conglomerate reported a net profit after tax from continuing operations of A$2.08 billion ($1.50 billion) for the full year ended June 30, compared with A$1.94 billion a year earlier.
The figure was higher than an estimate of A$2 billion, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Revenue from continuing operations for the year rose 10.5% to A$30.85 billion.
($1 = 1.3908 Australian dollars)