Woolworths shares gain on earnings, dividend lift
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More News: Shares in Woolworths rose nearly 3% to $37.26 in early trading after the supermarket giant reported an 18.3% earnings jump from its Australian food business and lifted its final dividend to 58 cents a share. Its full year profit of $1.6 billion was broadly in line with expectations.
Woolworths lifts full-year profit, dividend
The news: Supermarket giant Woolworths has lifted its annual profit and final dividend, helped by higher prices across its network.
The numbers: Statutory profit for the 52 weeks to 25 June was down nearly 80% due to last year’s one-off gains on the demerger of pub and drinks business Endeavour Group. Excluding this, net profit rose 4.6% to $1.6 billion, slightly below analyst expectations. Revenue for the year was up 5.7% to $64.3 billion, led by growth in its food business. The company declared a final dividend of 58 cents a share, up from 53 cents a year ago.
The context: Australia’s biggest grocery chain said same store sales in its local food business were up 4.2%, while earnings rose 18.3%. The growth in supermarket sales was largely driven by price rises, although this moderated in the fourth quarter. The group expects food inflation in Australia and New Zealand to continue to moderate but will likely remain elevated in some packaged categories.
What they said: “While overall customer demand has been remarkably stable, we are increasingly seeing our customers become more careful in their spending patterns.” CEO Brad Banducci said.
The source: ASX announcement
