Metcash’s earnings slightly declined despite revenue increasing in the fiscal first half.

The company’s revenue grew 6.3 per cent to $9.6 billion for the six months ended October 31, reflecting growth in food, liquor, and hardware segments bolstered by acquisitions.

Underlying earnings before interest and taxes slid 0.2 per cent to $246.1 million while underlying profit after tax fell 5.5 per cent to $134.6 million due to lower earnings in hardware and liquor. Statutory profit after tax rose 0.6 per cent to $141.8 million.

By segment, food sales surged 18.8 per cent to $4.2 billion, following the inclusion of Superior Foods starting in June.

Liquor sales climbed 2.1 per cent to $2.5 billion amid higher sales to independent retail and contract customers.

Hardware sales expanded 2.5 per cent to $1.8 billion, thanks to the opening of new Total Tools stores and IHG’s acquisition of Alpine Truss and Bianco Building Supplies in March.

“Our food and liquor pillars are well positioned for structural growth, while in Hardware we remain confident that the long-term market fundamentals remain positive for both IHG and Total Tools,” said Doug Jones, Metcash CEO.

“These businesses are ideally positioned to capitalise on an improvement in activity levels.”

For the first four weeks of the fiscal second half, food sales soared 22.6 per cent while liquor sales jumped 4.4 per cent. Hardware sales went up 3.6 per cent.