Woolworths $1.15b Profit up 19.4% 1H2013 #WOW

Grocery retailing company, Woolworths (ASX:WOW) have announced its half year financial results for 2013 to its shareholders and investors on the Australian stockmarket.

• Woolworths have reported a Net Profit of $1.15 billion, up 19.4 percent on the prior corresponding period.
• WOW revenue from ordinary activities up 3.2 percent, year-on-year, to $30.8753 billion.
• Woolworths sales from continuing operations up 4.8 percent to $30 billion.
• Big W had strong earnings growth, up eight percent to $129.5 million, as a result of freight and storage cost savings and a changed approach to promotions.
• Woolworths Chief Executive Officer Grant O'Brien said, "Despite ongoing challenging retail conditions as well as the transformational path our business is pursuing, growth in profitability in our core businesses was strong. Our strategic initiatives, which are providing a platform for the future success of Woolworths, continue to generate enhanced returns for our shareholders whilst improving the shopping experience of our customers."
• WOW CEO O'Brien said, "Woolworths has been a reputable business for many years, and operated at a very high standard and I think that's well recognised. None of that's changed under my watch and won't. So, a regulator has a job to do and we have a job here to do at Woolies, which is to deliver an offer to consumers that is compelling."
• Total group revenue for the first half up 3.2 percent to $30.88 billion from the 2011's $29.91 billion.
• Woolworths had also spun off 69 shopping centres into a listed property trust: Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group (ASX:SCP).
• Woolworths have sold Dick Smith to Anchorage Capital Partners and had taken an impairment charge of $65.7 million. The company had previously taken an impairment charge of $300 million in the prior year.
• On average, Woolworths served 20.2 million customers per week.
• Woolworths' home improvement chain, Masters, has 25 stores which generated sales of $637 million in the six months to December.
• Woolworths had acquired 29 hotels and 10 bottle shops during the half.
• Woolworths' pubs and poker machines venture, ALH Group, had revenue of $759 million for the half, up 19 percent, EBIT of $141 million, up 21 percent. ALH operates more than one-third of the poker machines in Victoria's pubs with 4,677 machines
• Woolworths has declared a fully-franked dividend of 62 cents per share, up 5.1 percent.