Woolies food sales jump on virus panic
WOOLWORTHS has reported a 10 per cent jump in food sales at its Australian supermarkets for the third quarter, due to panic buying amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The retail giant reported food sales of $11.1 billion for the 13 weeks to April 5, which is a comparable growth of 10.3 per cent.
The result falls short of the growth experienced at chief rival Coles, which on Wednesday reported an unprecedented 13.1 per cent sales growth and $8.23 billion in third-quarter supermarket revenue, albeit off a lower base.
Woolies said supermarket sales growth peaked at 40 per cent in the week ended March 22.
Toilet paper, cleaning goods, rice and pasta were the most popular items for the period, with shoppers often stripping shelves of these goods, prompting management to ask for extensions to delivery curfews and temporarily suspending online ordering.
Online supermarket sales climbed 26.5 per cent to $461 million, although this increase was not as high as in previous quarters, due to online ordering being suspended.
Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said the last four months had been one of the most challenging periods in the company’s history.
Sales at Big W climbed 9.9 per cent to $866 million, and sales at liquor stores – which include BWS and Dan Murphys – rose 8.9 per cent to $2.2 billion.
Woolworths’ hotels recorded a 2.4 per cent rise to $350 million, despite being closed from March 23 due to social distancing restrictions.
However, its 327 venues will make a loss before interest and tax of $30 million to $35 million per month while they remain closed.
Overall group sales climbed 10.7 per cent to $16.5 billion.