(Reuters) -Australia’s Coles Group reported a 3.4% rise in third-quarter revenue on Wednesday, driven by strong performance at its supermarkets division as price-conscious consumers took stock of value campaigns and promotions to shop cheaper.
Coles logged a 3.7% rise in third-quarter supermarket sales revenue to A$9.4 billion ($6.00 billion), buoyed by value-driven consumer behaviour, strong promotional campaigns and a surge in online sales.
Excluding tobacco, supermarkets’ revenue grew by 4.7%, as cost-conscious customers responded well to Coles’ value offerings such as its Summer value campaign and successful trade events over Australia Day and Valentine’s Day, the supermarket operator said.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s first interest rate cut in four years this February, combined with slowing inflation, provided much-needed relief to mortgage-burdened households, helping boost consumer spending at Coles amid persistent cost-of-living pressures.
The country’s second-largest grocer posted total group sales revenue of A$10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to A$10.03 billion in the previous year.
Overall inflation was modest at 1.5%, Coles said, with higher costs in fresh meat and produce offset by deflation in categories like health and home.
It added that severe weather events, including flooding in Queensland and Cyclone Alfred, affected fresh produce supply, contributing to localised price pressures.
Additionally, the company said e-commerce online sales jumped 25.7% to A$1.1 billion in the quarter. Penetration rose to 11.3% as enhancements to Coles’ app and website expanded delivery services.
($1 = 1.5669 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava and John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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