DEPARTMENT store group David Jones says the next six weeks of trade are critical to its annual profi…

DEPARTMENT store group David Jones says the next six weeks of trade are critical to its annual profit performance, refusing to upgrade modest profit forecasts until shoppers have shown the colour of their money.

Speaking at the company's annual general meeting in Melbourne yesterday, chief executive Mark McInnes said a nationwide review of the company's 37 stores had convinced him the company was well-placed for holiday trade, which typically contributed about 70 per cent of first half earnings.

"Our stores have never looked better, nor have we been better prepared for the all-important Christmas trading period," he said.

But while fellow retailers, including Harvey Norman, are predicting a record Christmas period, DJs is sticking to forecasts for annual profit growth of between zero and 5 per cent, well short of the 14 per cent growth analysts expect. In response to shareholder demands for more specific guidance, chairman Robert Savage said the volume of sales made over the holiday season meant it was imprudent to adjust forecasts until the period was over.

"We are now moving into the time of the year when we do a very significant proportion of our business, over the next six weeks -- the four weeks leading up to Christmas and the two weeks after Christmas," he said.

"Until we actually see the shoppers shopping, we're really not in a position to say what we expect for the year ahead." Mr Savage also said there was no evidence of institutional investors selling shares in DJs to take up stock in Myer, as some analysts had predicted ahead of the Myer sharemarket listing last month.

Asked if DJs was taking advantage of the strength in the dollar to hedge its currency exposure, chief financial officer Stephen Goddard noted that about 95 per cent of DJs' purchasing was done in Australian dollars, so currency fluctuations had little impact on the company's expenses.

Shares in DJs closed 7c higher at $5.76 yesterday.