Australian supermarket chain Coles has reported group sales revenue of A$43.57bn ($29.54bn) in fiscal 2024 (FY24), increasing 5.7% on a normalised basis, compared to A$41.47bn in FY23.
During the 53 weeks ending 30 June 2024, sales revenue for the supermarkets segment increased by 4.3% to A$39.0bn, and liquor segment sales revenue increased by 0.5% to A$3.7bn.
The company’s reported profit from continuing operations was A$1.12bn in FY24, increasing 2.1% on a normalised basis from A$1.04bn in FY23.
The group reported that earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) from continuing operations were A$2.05bn in FY24, increasing 5.7% on a normalised basis from FY23.
Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) continuing operations were A$3.65bn in FY24, up 5% from A$3.38bn in the previous year.
In supermarkets, underlying EBITDA and EBIT increased by 7.6% and 10.5% respectively, on a normalised basis, with supermarkets' EBIT margin increasing by 30bps [basis points].
The company’s financing costs from continuing operations also increased by A$48m to A$442m in FY24.
Net debt increased A$469m to A$1.50bn as of 30 June 2024.
Coles Group CEO Leah Weckert said: “The financial pressures on households and families have been front of mind for us this year and we have endeavoured to deliver value across our supermarket, liquor and online offerings to help customers balance the household budget.
“At the same time, we have worked hard to deliver improvements in availability and quality, made significant inroads in addressing loss, accelerated our digital offering, continued to maintain a strong focus on costs and completed the construction of our second ADC [automated distribution centre] and both our CFCs [customer fulfilment centres].”
The supermarket chain registered revenue growth of 3.7% in the first eight weeks of FY25, while sales revenue of liquor declined by 1.4% during this period.
CoIes expects to open eight new supermarkets and 13 new liquor stores.
In August 2024, Coles inaugurated its second ADC in Kemps Creek, western Sydney, using Witron technology.
