Background: David Jones is Australia's oldest department store still trading under its original name, after being founded in 1838 by David Jones himself. But the past few years haven't been kind to the retailer. Earlier this year, it was accused of delaying payments to suppliers, while its new owners cut head office staff as part of a five-year turnaround plan.

What happened: Now, David Jones could face a fat fine from ASIC after lodging its FY25 financial report 6 months past the deadline. The retailer was meant to submit its financial statements within four months of the end of the last financial year... but didn't file until April this year. The report also revealed a pre-tax loss of more than $95 million for FY25. Yikes.

What else: The delayed filing didn't just include the FY25 loss... but also some more recent (and more positive) trading results. David Jones said EBITDA increased fourfold in the first nine months of FY26, while sales rose 3.6%. So, it appears to be a bit of a strategic business decision to release numbers late.

What's the key learning?

💡 Financial reporting is kind of like a company's school report card. And in Australia, ASX-listed companies, public companies, and large proprietary companies have to lodge their financial statements with ASIC within four months of the end of the financial year.  

💡 Missing those deadlines can be veeeery expensive.ASIC has been taking a much tougher stance on late filings, recently issuing significant fines to companies:

• It fined Canva $720,000 for late financial reporting
• It fined Mecca approximately $600,000 for missing reporting deadlines
  

💡 But sometimes companies decide the benefits of delaying reports actually outweigh those costs. By releasing its FY25 loss alongside stronger FY26 trading results, David Jones may have softened the impact of the weaker results on stakeholders. And that could be worth forking out for the late fine.