Woolworths shares surged nearly 8% following strong half-year earnings
Underlying profit increased 16.4% to A$859 million despite reported profit decline
Company provisioned A$710 million for legal costs related to employee underpayment
Interim dividend increased to 45 cents per share
Australian food unit sales up 5.8% in first seven weeks of second half
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Australian supermarket giant Woolworths Ltd (ASX: WOW) saw its shares surge nearly 8% on Wednesday, February 24, 2026, after reporting strong half-year earnings that demonstrated improving local consumer demand, particularly for discounted items. The company's underlying net profit after tax rose impressively by 16.4% to A$859 million ($606.3 million) for the six months ending January 4, while group sales increased by 3.4% to A$37.1 billion. Woolworths also achieved a slight improvement in gross margin to 27.4% through cost cuts and supply chain optimizations. The strong performance helped lift the broader ASX 200 index by 0.6%, with Woolworths shares opening at A$34.150. Despite the positive underlying results, investors largely overlooked a 49.4% drop in Woolworths' reported net profit after tax, which was attributed to a A$710 million provision for potential costs related to legal action over historical underpayment of some employees. The company maintained shareholder confidence by declaring an interim dividend of 45 cents per share, up from 39 cents in the previous year. Looking ahead, Woolworths reported strong trading in the first seven weeks of the second half of its fiscal year, with sales at its core Australian food unit up 5.8% during this period.
A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections under one roof. The supermarket retail format first appeared around 1930 in the United States as the culmination of almost two decades of retail innovations to the grocery ...
In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. In economics "demand" for a commodity is not the same thing as "desire" for it. It refers to both the desire to purchase and the ability to pay for a commodity.
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try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry Bitcoin slips, wipes out 50% from October record high at session low AMD stock surges 14% on Meta AI partnership deal Wall Street ends higher on tech rebound ahead of State of the Union address Software stocks rebound as Anthropic partnerships ease AI disruption fears (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) Woolworths shares surge on strong HY earnings By Ambar Warrick Author Ambar Warrick Stock Markets Published 02/24/2026, 06:50 PM Woolworths shares surge on strong HY earnings 0 AXJO 0.80% WOW 10.49% Investing.com-- Woolworths Ltd (ASX: WOW ) shares rose sharply on Wednesday after the Australian grocer clocked a strong half-year profit and flagged improving demand among local consumers, especially for discounted items. Woolworth shares jumped nearly 8% at the open to A$34.150, helping spur a 0.6% gain in the ASX 200 index. Get more breaking news on Australia’s biggest stocks by subscribing to InvestingPro Australia’s biggest supermarket chain said underlying net profit after tax rose 16.4% to A$859 million ($606.3 million) for the six months to January 4. Group sales rose 3.4% to A$37.1 billion, while the company’s gross margin improved slightly to 27.4% amid cost cuts and supply chain improvements. The stronger underlying print helped investors largely look past a 49.4% drop in Woolworth’s net profit after tax, which was due to the company setting aside A$710 million for potential costs related to legal action over the historical underpayment of some employees. Woolworths declared an interim dividend of 45 cents per share, up from 39 cents a year ago. The company said trading in the first seven weeks of the second half of the fiscal year was strong, with sales at its core Australian food unit up 5.8% in the period.
