Coles booked higher revenue in the first half, thanks with both supermarket and liquor sales increasing.
The supermarket and liquor retail operator’s revenue grew 3.7 per cent to $23.04 billion, with supermarket turnover up 4.3 per cent to $20.63 billion and liquor sales up 0.8 per cent to $2 billion.
“Sales growth was underpinned by the successful delivery of seasonal events including Christmas, Halloween and Black Friday, trade events including the SMEG and ‘Christmas Instant Win’ campaigns, and a positive customer response to, and continued investment in, our ‘Great Value, Hands Down’ value campaigns,” said Coles.
Revenue from Coles’ ‘other’ segment declined 10.7 per cent to $402 million, largely due to a decrease in tobacco sales in relation to Coles’ product supply agreement with Viva Energy Group, which operates OTR and Coles convenience stores attached to fuel stations.
During the period, Coles opened three new stores, closed one, and completed 25 refurbishments.
From late November, the company took advantage of its chief rival Woolworths’ industrial problems, working with suppliers to increase stocks in its Victoria and NSW stores to satisfy customers unable to source goods at Woolworths outlets.
Coles says its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 10.3 per cent to $2.05 billion with net profit down 2.2 per cent to $576 million.
Trading update for the third quarter
In the first seven weeks of the third quarter, Coles saw supermarket sales revenue increase 3.4 per cent and liquor sales revenue rise 3.8 per cent.
“Our focus in the second half remains on providing a compelling customer value proposition, making further progress on improving our fresh offer and continuing to tailor our ranges to make sure we have the right products in the right stores to cater for local customer preferences,” said Leah Weckert, Coles CEO.
“We also remain focused on delivering the benefits from our major transformation investments, including optimising our automated distribution centres (ADCs) and providing a best-in-class experience for our customer fulfilment centre (CFC) customers.”
Coles appoints new chairman-elect
Coles said James Graham will retire as chairman, effective April 30, with Peter Allen taking over on May 1.
Allen has been a non-executive director of Coles since September 1 last year, bringing with him more than 30 years of senior executive experience, which includes serving as CEO of Scentre Group and as CFO of Westfield Group.
“James will be remembered for his strategic decision-making, active shareholder engagement and focus on operational excellence and capital allocation,” said Allen.
“As incoming chair, I am committed to generating long-term value for all our shareholders and will work tirelessly with the board and management to achieve this.”
