Woolworths Fiscal Year Net Profit Falls, But Says Sales Momentum Improving

By Mike Cherney

SYDNEY--Woolworths, one of the Australia's main grocery chains, said its net profit fell in the 2024 fiscal year, after the grocer lowered prices to attract customers concerned about cost-of-living pressures.

The grocer said its net profit, stripping out one-time items, dipped 0.6% to about 1.7 billion Australian dollars (US$1.1 billion) in the year ended in June. Including one-time items, such as an impairment of its New Zealand food business and a loss on its investment in drinks company Endeavour, Woolworths said its net profit was A$108 million, down 93%.

The grocer declared a final dividend of 57 Australian cents per share, down slightly from 58 cents in the prior year. However, Woolworths also declared a special dividend of 40 Australian cents per share, reflecting proceeds from its sale of a stake in Endeavour. That brings the full-year 2024 payout to 144 cents, up from 104 in the prior year.

Woolworths said its efforts to attract customers are paying off. It said sales momentum improved in the fiscal fourth quarter, and that this has continued into the 2025 fiscal year.

In its key Australian food business, Woolworths said sales had increased about 3% in the first eight weeks of the 2025 fiscal year. New Zealand food sales had increased 1.5%. Sales in its Big W discount department store chain were broadly flat, the company said.

Some analysts had flagged that the outlook could be pessimistic, as moderating food-price inflation weighs on sales, consumers remain worried about costs of living and politicians beef up scrutiny of supermarket profits.

But on Tuesday, Coles, Woolworth's main competitor in the Australian market, posted a A$1.1 billion profit and boosted its final dividend. Investors were upbeat on that result and Coles shares rose 1.7%.

Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 27, 2024 19:28 ET (23:28 GMT)

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