Wesfarmers Limited - Premium Company Report Australia

30-06-2012, 52 pages

Wesfarmers Limited is a Public Company that is ranked number 2 out of the top 2000 companies in Australia. The company generates the majority of its income from the Food Retailing in Australia industry.

In 2012 the company generated total revenue of $58,463,000,000 including sales and other revenue. In 2012 Wesfarmers Limited had 200000 employees in Australia including employees from all subsidiaries under the company's control.

The Chief Executive of Wesfarmers Limited is Mr Richard Goyder whose official title is Managing Director. The Chairman of Wesfarmers Limited is Dr Bob Every whose official title is Non-Executive Chairman.

Wesfarmers Limited owns a diversified portfolio of businesses operating in the supermarket, hardwareand department stores, LPG and energy distribution, coal mining, insurance, chemicals and fertiliser, financial services and investment industries. The company divides its operations into five segments:

Retail:

The retail division has a range of operations from supermarkets and convenience stores to hardware and office supplies. Brands include:

Coles, operating as a retailer of groceries and other household consumables through Coles and Bi-Lo supermarkets. The division operates in over 3,000 locations throughout Australia and New Zealand. The company also retails liquor through Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and 1st Choice stores, and petrol through Coles Express, a joint venture with petrol retailer Shell.

Kmart is a retailer of apparel and general merchandise such as toys, entertainment and leisure items and home consumables. Kmart also has an automotive services department.

The Target division includes Target and Target Country brands, and is a retailer of apparel, homewares and general merchandise such as home accessories, electrical and toys.

The Home Improvement & Office Supplies division principally operates through the Bunnings and Officeworks brands. Bunnings has a chain of over 206 Warehouse stores, 36 Trade centres and 58 smaller format stores. Bunnings provides home and garden improvement products in Australia and New Zealand, and is a major supplier of building materials. Officeworks has a chain of over 139 retail office supplies stores, and two Harris Technology stores, a reseller of technology to small and medium businesses.

Mining:

Wesfarmers Resources division is an open-cut miner and metallurgical coal producer with interests in several Australian mining operations. The Curragh mine in Queenslands Bowen Basin is a coal mine producing metallurgical and steaming coal for export to Japan, South-East Asia, Europe and South America. Wesfarmers holds a 40% interest in the Bengalla mine in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, which produces steaming coal for domestic and export markets.

Insurance:

The company's insurance business provides insurance broking, insurance underwriting and related financial services in Australia and New Zealand through subsidiaries Wesfarmers Federation Insurance, Lumley, OAMPS and Crombie Lockwood. The OAMPS also has operations in the UK, and offers superannuation as well as financial management services.

Industrial:

The Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers unit supplies chemicals and fertilisers to the mining, agricultural and industrial sectors. Subsidiary CSBP specialises in ammonia, ammonium nitrate, sodium cyanide, polyvinyl chloride resin and wood-plastic composite products. Other businesses in this segment include polyvinyl chloride manufacturer Australian Vinyls, a 50% interest in ammonium nitrate manufacturer Queensland Nitrates and a 75% interest in Australian Gold Reagents, a manufacturer of sodium cyanide, which is used in gold extraction. Subsidiary Kleenheat Gas distributes and markets LPG and appliances to domestic, commercial and industrial customers. Wesfarmers LPG owns and operates a liquefied petroleum gas extraction facility in Kwinana, Western Australia, supplying domestic and export markets. The company also maintains a 40 per cent interest in Air Liquide WA, a manufacturer of medical, industrial and specialty gasses.

The Industrial & Safety unit supplies maintenance, repair and operating, packaging and safety products to industry and the public sector. The unit includes Blackwoods, a supplier of industrial and safety products in Australia and New Zealand, and distributor to markets in the Asia Pacific region. Other businesses include Protector Alsafe, which distributes safety products, Blackwoods Paykels, a general industrial hose and conveyor distributor, Packaging House, a distributor of packaging products and Coregas, which produces a range of gases including oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and argon.

Other:

Wesfarmers also has a 50% interest in investment bank and corporate advisory services provider Gresham Partners and Gresham Private Equity Fund, a 50% interest in Western Australian plantation sawmiller Westpine Industries; and a 23% interest in the Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust, a listed fund of property assets predominantly associated with the company's Bunnings Warehouse hardware chain.

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