Woolworths Group has reported sales of $69.1b in FY25, with EBIT (normalised) down 12.6 per cent on the previous year driven by Australian Food and Big W.

Excluding the impact on Australian Food of industrial action of $95 million in H1, incremental supply chain commissioning and dual-running costs of $73 million and the acquisition of Petstock in the prior year, Group EBIT would have declined by 7.8% on a normalised basis.

“After a highly disrupted first half, we have taken action to reposition the Group for long-term sustainable growth,” said Woolworths Group CEO Amanda Bardwell.

“While there is more to do and current trading remains below our ambition, we have seen some early positive signs with improving customer scores.”

Australian Food

Australian Food total sales increased by 1.2% in FY25 to $51.5b with normalised growth of 3.1% (4.5% ex Tobacco).

Despite some availability impacts caused by supply chain disruption in H1, Grocery Food (ex Tobacco) saw strong growth driven by Health & Wellness, Drinks and Frozen Food with sales momentum improving in H2 driven by successful Back to School and Easter events. Modest inflation in Fruit & Vegetables and item growth in Chilled and Meat, Poultry and Seafood contributed to Fresh growth. In Everyday Needs, sales and item growth was broadly in line with the prior year driven by increased competition in Pet and Baby Needs.

Own and Exclusive Brand sales grew 5.0% in FY25, outperforming branded sales growth as customers continued to recognise the strong value of own and exclusive brands.

Customer scores in Q4 improved meaningfully on Q3 with VOC NPS and Store-controllable VOC up four and three points respectively reflecting a strong focus on improving retail execution, improved value perception, as well as fewer external disruptions during the period.

eComX sales increased by a normalised 17.4% in FY25 with eCommerce penetration ending the year at a new high of 15.1%. Ultra convenience propositions like MILKRUN and Delivery Now continued to grow in popularity with over 40% of delivery orders fulfilled within two hours in Q4.

Other business

New Zealand Food had a strong year with EBIT up a normalised 40.6% in FY25. Sales increased by a normalised 3.4% as the rebranding to Woolworths and transformation initiatives continued to resonate with customers translating into item growth. Around 75% of Countdown stores have rebranded to Woolworths in New Zealand – on track to complete rebranding of the network by the end of 2025.

Media, Everyday Rewards and Services sales increased by a normalised 11.7% and EBIT increased by a normalised 40.2% supported by Cartology and Everyday Mobile and Insurance which all delivered double-digit sales growth.

Australian B2B sales increased by a normalised 4.1% with PFD sales increasing by a normalised 6.9%. FY25 EBIT increased by a normalised 15.8% with margin improvements in PFD and double-digit earnings growth from the Group’s third-party supply chain business, PC+, leading to a double-digit ROFE in Australian B2B.

The W Living segment (comprising BIG W, Petstock, Woolworths MarketPlus and Healthylife) sales increased by a normalised 9.9% with a segment loss of $63 million.

Progress on key focus areas

In February, Woolworths Group highlighted three focus areas for 2025: ‘Get it right for our customers’, ‘Simplify the way we work’, and ‘Unlock the potential of the group.

Reflecting on the progress, Ms Bardwell said the Group has invested in lowering shelf prices, increasing specials and absorbing cost price increases on everyday items and made its pricing clearer and easier to understand.

“Excluding Tobacco, average prices have declined year on year for the sixth consecutive quarter. Value for Money continues to improve and our focus on availability and elevating retail execution is also contributing to momentum in customer scores,” she said.

“We have simplified the way we work with key management changes and an organisational structure better aligned to our strategic priorities. We are on track to deliver $400 million in above-store savings by the end of calendar 2025. We are committed to being a lower-cost business with a strong ongoing productivity agenda and a discipline of making every dollar count across Woolworths Group.”

The business has also taken steps to unlock the full potential of the Group, having announced the closure of the MyDeal customer website and consolidated a number of businesses internally to improve performance and elevate focus on its cornerstone Food business.

Looking ahead

Woolworths Group expects to return to profit growth in FY26 following a disappointing FY25.

“We will continue to rebuild customer trust through compelling value and retail execution excellence, simplify the way we work and become a more focused, lower-cost retailer with a differentiated Food offer at our core,” Ms Bardwell said.

“Some of this will take time but I am confident that the strength of our brands, assets and team can see us deliver a much-improved performance. I also wanted to acknowledge and thank our team for their efforts during a period of significant disruption and change.”