Solomon Lew says the consumer is nervous about the current political situation. Picture: Gough Tony Source: Herald Sun The group added $22.6 million to its cash pile, taking it to $316.7 million - more than a quarter of its market capitalisation. It cut its debt by $37.4 million, to $85.5 million. The company is pushing into Asia with its popular stationery brand Smiggle. It opened two stores in Singapore during the half and will open another two in the next six months. Eight of the top 10 performing Smiggle stores are in Singapore. "You would have to say the main (investment) opportunities are offshore," Mr Lew said yesterday. That does not mean we wouldn't make an acquisition in Australia but (with) conditions as they are today, especially if you are looking at how unstable the political situation is at the moment, the consumer is quite nervous out there. Both Coles and Woolworths said this week they were now trying to source more local product. But that won't comfort those who have already been forced out of business due to the sharp rise in cheap imported products that pushed local brands off the shelves. The company closed 14 loss-making stores in the six months to January 26. Premier, which also owns Dotti and Peter Alexander, is the third major retailer to report in the past fortnight. Myer delivered higher profits and sales but lower margins. David Jones delivered higher margins but profit and sales fell. Premier posted rises in all three. Net profit after tax grew to $46.5 million, up 20.7 per cent on the same period a year earlier. Total sales for the group were up 2.5 per cent at $444.7 million while its gross margin on sales improved by 1.13 percentage points. The company declared a fully franked interim dividend of 19c a share, up 1c from the same period a year ago. It will be paid on May 17 to shareholders on the company's register at April 19. Premier shares closed 2.1 per cent higher at $7.86.