Reported EBITDA tumbled 56.3 per cent to $30 million.
In early December Sigma said slashed its earnings expectations for the 2022 year, saying they would be about 10 per cent lower.
Sigma, which also operates the Amcal, Chemist King, Discount Drug Stores, Guardian and PharmaSave retail banners, said its annual sales rose 1.3 per cent to $3.44 billion as it lost sales from existing customers and suffered stalled growth from new customers because of the IT upgrade issues.
It also had lower PPE and export sales compared with the prior year when COVID-19 surged.
Gross profit fell 5.1 per cent to $227 million, reflecting a return to a more normal product sales mix following a spike in PPE sales in fiscal 2021. There were also higher inventory adjustments by $6 million due to ERP implementation and distribution centre transfer.
The group is investing in its IT systems across the business, led by an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system – a $65 million investment, which has been plagued with issues.
New boss, South African Vikesh Ramsunder, took over steering Sigma on February 17 amid a pressured share price. He is targeting April 30 for full stabilisation of the ERP system.
“Sigma has navigated an extended period of transformation and investment that has resulted in world-class infrastructure to sustain and support business growth over the long-term,” he said.
“These investments have, however, disrupted our business and customers short-term. Our focus now is to overcome these challenges quickly, and to be obsessed with servicing our customers and winning back their trust, to simplify our business and to leverage our assets for growth.”
The board headed by chairman Ray Gunston declared a final dividend of 1¢, fully franked, in line with a year ago. It will be paid on April 22.
More to come
