(Reuters) – Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd reported a 14.2% decline in its first half profit, owing to COVID-19 restrictions and disruptions in supply chains. The company also warned that labour shortages will continue in the second.

Wesfarmers reported last month that Omicron infection infected people throughout the country had reduced traffic to its shops, resulting in lower retail sales at Kmart Group stores and Officeworks.

Conglomerate based in Perth reported a half-year net profit of A$1.21billion ($870.8m) after taxes from continued operations, compared to A$1.41billion a year prior.

According to it, “The group continued to incur additional cost and suffer stock availability impact as a consequence of ongoing global supply chains disruptions and elevated team member absenteism,” the statement said.

Kmart Group, accounting for roughly one-third of fiscal revenue, lost around a quarter to its store trading day in the first six months of 2021. Pretax earnings dropped 63.4% from A$178million.

Wesfarmers received an interim dividend in the amount of 80 Australian cents per Share, as opposed to 88 cents last fiscal year.

($1 = 1.3895 Australian dollars)