Australia's Woolworths posts in-line annual profit, declares special dividend
Declares special dividend of 40 AU cents/sh
Sees challenging trading conditions this year
Recasts with details about results and executive comment in paragraphs 3-8
Aug 28 (Reuters) -Woolworths WOW.AX, Australia's largest supermarket chain, reported an annualprofit in line with estimates onWednesday and declared a special dividend, but said it expects customers to remain cautious amid heightened cost-of-living pressures.
Woolworths grapples with declining performance in key divisions amid inflation-induced margin pressures and escalating operational costs, while intense competition has made it hard for the grocer to adapt to evolving consumer trends.
The grocer slashed prices and passed on lower costs to customers to address the rise in competition and tackle cross-shopping trends.
Consequently, inflation in its food businesses and BIG W segment moderated significantly in the second half and item growth slowed, leading to cooling sales momentum.
The grocer logged total group sales of A$67.92 billion for the year, compared with A$64.29 billion in fiscal 2023.
Sales momentum in fiscal 2025 has continued to improve across the group, Woolworths said, with sales in its biggest earner, Australian Food, up about 3% in the first eight weeks.
"Looking ahead, improving customer scores, item growth, and lower inflation provide reason for optimism," outgoing CEO Brad Banducci said in a statement.
"However, we also know that our customers remain under significant mortgage and rent-related financial stress and anticipate them to remain cautious with the trading environment expected to be challenging for the rest of the financial year."
The company posted a net profit after tax before significant items of A$1.71 billion ($1.16 billion) for the year ended June,
flat compared to the prior year and largely in line with
a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$1.72 billion.
The Sydney-based company also declared a final dividend of 57 Australian cents per shares, compared with 58 cents a year earlier.
It also declared special dividend of 40 Australian cents per share.
($1 = 1.4728 Australian dollars)
Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
