Warehouse first-half profit falls 8.2% with margins squeezed

The Warehouse's first-half net profit fell 8.2% even as Christmas and summer sales hit records with supply-chain disruption eating into its profit margins.Net profit for the 26 weeks ended Jan 30 fell to $50.4 million compared with $55m in the same six months a year earlier.Gross profit margin fell 150 basis points to 34.7%, which it attributed both to disruptions in its supply chain and rising ocean freight costs.Sales fell 4.3% to $1.73 billion for the six months, although sales in the second quarter rose 2.8% to a record.But online sales...