Woolworths boss Brad Banducci facing jail over fiery Senate hearing appearance ... trends now
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Woolworths boss Brad Banducci has been threatened with a six-month prison sentence and a fine for failing to answer questions at a heated Senate inquiry over the supermarket's profits.
Mr Banducci was asked repeatedly during a hearing into supermarket prices to disclose Woolworths' return on equity, a key measure of the company's profitability.
Instead, the chief executive declined to answer the questions, focusing on the company's return on investment.
'We measure return on investment, which we think is the right way of measuring profitability in a company,' he told the inquiry on Tuesday.
Inquiry chair and Greens senator Nick McKim warned Mr Banducci a failure to answer the question directly may lead him to being held in contempt by the Senate.
Woolworths boss Brad Banducci (pictured) was threatened with being charged with contempt of court during a Senate hearing
Such a charge comes with a fine of up to $5,000 and a possible prison sentence of six months.
The failure to disclose the answer led to the inquiry being forced to suspend its hearings.
The profit margins of major supermarkets has come under scrutiny at the inquiry, with Woolworths and Coles being accused of price gouging.
Woolworths made a $1.7 billion profit after tax in the most recent financial year.
Senator McKim accused Mr Banducci of cherrypicking data surrounding the supermarket's profits.
'The fact that (Woolworths' return on equity) is 26 per cent in a year where you made $1.7
