The retail juggernaut will pay a dividend of 54 cents a share and declared a special dividend of 25 cents,bringing the total annual payout to $1.25 a share. Lew’s family holds a 42.43 per cent stake in Premier,meaning he’ll receive about $84.4 million in dividends for the full year.
Premier also owns a 22.87 per cent stake in Myer,and Lew has been trying to shake things up at the department store for more than five years,arguing the company has lagged ever since it floated on the ASX in 2009.
Myer has so far fended off his attempts at an overhaul,including Lew’s bids to install board members such as former Myer Grace Bros boss Terrence McCartney in previous years. The department store posted its strongest result in years last month - but Lew says there is still work to do.
“I think that[CEO] John King is currently working somewhat smarter,but you know,they’ve got three billion in sales and less than 2 cents[in the dollar] in profit - they’ve got a long way to go,” he said.
Myer reported just under $3 billion in sales for the 2022 financial year and a net profit after tax of $49 million.
Documents lodged with the ASX last month signalledPremier intends to once again nominate Terrence McCartney to join the Myer board at the company’s annual general meeting in November.
Lew said McCartney’s decades of experience in the sector would be of great value to the department store’s board.