Buried detail in Coles' financial report hints when Covid lockdowns will end and the supermarket chain expects shopping to get back to normal
Australian supermarket giant Coles released its full-year report on Wednesday, announcing a cool $1.01billion in net profit, up a whopping 7.5 per cent on last year.
But it was something buried within the end of financial year report that helped shed light on when the retailer expects life to return to normal in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company has faith in the national vaccine rollout and suspects consumer behaviour will 'normalise' in 2022 with 'fewer lockdowns' and an end to panic-buying.
Australian supermarket giant Coles released its full-year report on Wednesday, announcing a cool $1.01billion in net profit, up a whopping 7.5 per cent on last year
'During FY22 Coles will be cycling the sales and cost impacts of Covid-19 across all segments, particularly the extended hard lockdown in Victoria during most of H1 FY21,' Coles said in their update to the Australian Securities Exchange.
'We now expect the roll out of the vaccination program and in turn fewer lockdowns to support normalising consumer behaviours in calendar year 2022.'
It's been a rollercoaster year for the supermarket chain, which has more than 800 stores across the country.
Volatility stemming from the Covid pandemic and agricultural fallout from the 2020 bushfire crisis has made normal operations more difficult.
But with a significant increase in online sales, the retailer managed to surge ahead in the tumultuous year.
'Conditions in the early part of the first quarter remain volatile as outbreaks of the COVID-19 Delta variant have led to multiple lockdowns across the country,' Coles said in their outlook for FY22.
Coles has faith in the national vaccine rollout and suspects consumer behaviour will 'normalise' in 2022 with 'fewer lockdowns' and an end to panic-buying (pictured, a shopper in a Sydney Coles)
Volatility stemming from the Covid pandemic and agricultural fallout from the 2020 bushfire crisis has made normal operations more difficult (pictured, shoppers wait for Coles to open in Maylands, Perth as the city was in lockdown in February)
Empty shelves of Toilet Rolls at a Coles Supermarket in Sydney's Parramatta are seen at the start of the pandemic with stores enduring a tough year
'As the number of snap lockdowns increased, and the New South Wales lockdown was extended, 'local shopping' trends have re-emerged with eCommerce and neighbourhood stores outperforming shopping centre and CBD locations.'
Across the board there was a 3.1 per cent increase in sales revenue to $38.6 billion, with delivery and collect services accounting for $2.1 billion.
Coles Group CEO Steven Cain said it was a strong result especially considering it another year riddled with Covid, floods and bushfires.
'I would like to thank our team members, suppliers and community partners for their resilience and support to ensure the security of food supply and a safe environment for our customers,' Mr Cain said.
Across the board there was a 3.1 per cent increase in sales revenue to $38.6 billion, with delivery and collect services accounting for $2.1 billion (pictured, a Coles delivery van in Sydney)
Coles Group CEO Steven Cain said it was a strong result especially considering it another year riddled with Covid, floods and bushfires (pictured, shoppers leaving the queue after receiving toilet paper at Coles Supermarket, in Sydney during the first lockdown last year)
'Whilst the Covid-19 Delta variant is presenting some new challenges, I would like to thank all levels of government for continuing to work with us to help keep our customers, team members and community safe, including by providing priority access to vaccines in some critical areas.'
Coles also announced that investors would receive a fully-franked final dividend of 28 cents per share.
At the close of trade the company's share price finished flat, marginally up 0.010 points or 0.055 per cent to $18.34 per share.