Metcash profit up

THE company that supplies stores under the Independent Grocers of Australia banner has had a surge in first-half earnings despite a drop in sales at its supermarket business.

Grocery wholesaler Metcash yesterday posted a net profit of $92.9 million for the six months to October.

The IGA and Foodlands supplier said food sales dropped 1.4 per cent from the same period last year — to $4.36 billion — due to fierce competition from Woolworths and Coles, plus the aggressive expansion of Aldi in South Australian and Western Australia.

But net profit still rose from $74.9 million a year earlier on a 7.6 per cent rise in total sales, driven by Metcash’s liquor business and Home Timber & Hardware chain.

The group announced a fully-franked interim dividend of 6¢ a share.