Wesfarmers has suffered a near-£800m hit from the sale of Homebase, causing profits at the Australian conglomerate to more than halve.
Net profit plunged 58% to A$1.2bn (£680m) for the year ending in June following a botched attempt at tackling the UK market.
The owner of the Bunnings DIY chain struck a £340m deal to buy Homebase from Home Retail Group in 2016, but the takeover descended into one of the “most disastrous” ever buy-outs of a British retailer.
