Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott pockets $6 million in share sell-down

Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott has pocketed more than $6 million from a sell-down of his shareholding in the WA conglomerate he has run since 2017.

Company filings show Mr Scott sold 89,045 shares at $68.40 apiece on-market on May 17, realising $6.1m before costs.

The sale came 10 days after Wesfarmers’ fast-running shares hit a record high of $71.11, recapitalising the century-old, former co-operative at $80 billion and entrenching its position as WA’s biggest listed company by value.

The shares sold by Mr Scott were derived from two early performance-related executive share plans, with the Wesfarmers filing saying the sales were “to raise funds to meet tax liabilities ... primarily arising” from the allocation of the stock.

The Olympian retains a significant holding of just over a million Wesfarmers shares, though half of them have yet to vest or are subject to trading restrictions.

Nonetheless, the stock is potentially worth more than $64m at Monday’s early trading price of just over $64.

Mr Scott last sold stock in April last year, realising $9m when Wesfarmers shares were selling at less than $52.

Wesfarmers out-ran its August 2021 peak of $67.20 in late-February, propelled by the unexpectedly strong performances by Bunnings and Kmart that underpinned an upbeat interim financial result.

However, chair Michael Chaney said at the time he believed the run was also driven by industry and superannuation funds looking for new investments, particularly in companies which had stable dividends and attractive environmental, social and governance credentials.

The share price has retreated in recent weeks, with brokers reckoning Wesfarmers is now fully valued after its share market outperformance.

Morgan Stanley last week downgraded Wesfarmers from equal-weight, or a hold, to underweight, or a sell, citing “limited avenues for earnings upgrades, peak cycle multiples (and) our cautious stance on the domestic consumer”.