Woolworths continues to have the edge on arch supermarket rival Coles, IBISWorld’s latest revenue-growth figures suggest.
Woolworths has posted 3.4 per cent revenue growth in 2017-18. The company’s comparable sales growth in its supermarkets business totalled 4.3 per cent.
According to IBISWorld, this boost in revenue continues to add to Woolworths’ outperformance of its main rival, Coles.
Coles posted 1.1 per cent in comparable sales growth for the 2017-18 financial year. Woolworths has outpaced its rival in terms of price deflation at its supermarkets. It posted a price-deflation figure of 1.9 per cent, compared with Coles’ 1.2 per cent.
In its other businesses, Woolworths has also seen growth in comparable sales. The company’s Endeavour Drinks liquor business posted growth of 4.5 per cent in 2017-18. New Zealand supermarkets and the company’s hotels business also posted 3.4 per cent and 3.7 per cent comparable sales growth, respectively.
Big W ‘disappointing’
But not all the news was quite so good.
“Big W’s result was slightly disappointing, with only 0.7 per cent growth for the year, and a reported loss before interest and tax of $110 million,” IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst Andrew Ledovskikh said.
“Overall, the company performed slightly better than expected, with NPAT totalling $1.7 billion in 2017-18, up from $1.5 billion the prior year.”
IBISWorld says the supermarkets and grocery stores industry’s revenue is expected to total $102.3 billion in 2017-18.
Woolworths accounts for about 37 per cent of the industry. Coles is at 30 per cent and ALDI at nine per cent. Smaller players such as IGA and Costco make up the rest.
