Feb 25 (Reuters) – Woolworths on Wednesday reported a rise in interim underlying profit and flagged signs of market share stabilization, as it ramped up efforts to attract value-conscious customers with lower-priced items.
The use of targeted discounts to draw in shoppers helped the retailer tap into value‑driven demand and position itself as a go‑to choice for households looking to stretch their budgets in a cautious spending environment.
Australia’s top supermarket chain said underlying net profit after tax rose by 16.4% to A$859 million ($606.28 million) for the 27 weeks ended January 4, from A$739 million a year earlier.
Visible Alpha analysts had estimated an underlying net profit after tax of A$813.5 million for the period.
Earnings for the supermarket chain’s biggest money-making segment, Australian Food, rose 3.6% to A$27.63 billion for the half-year, as the company added products to its Lower Shelf Price program to draw in more customers while launching shopping incentives including customer rewards.
Woolworths declared an interim dividend of 45 Australian cents per share, compared with 39 Australian cents a year earlier.
($1 = 1.4168 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri and Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Jonathan Ananda)
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