(Reuters) – Australia’s Coles Group posted a 3.6% fall in first-half profit on Tuesday, as significant cost pressures within the business impacted earnings.
The country’s second-largest grocer has struggled to increase shelf prices at its supermarkets division as food inflation moderates, while labor costs and energy prices remain elevated.
The company’s net profit after tax from continuing operations was A$594 million ($388.36 million) for the half-year, compared with A$616 million a year ago.
Coles’ supermarkets division, its top revenue generator, reported revenue of A$19.78 billion, a 4.9% rise from last year.
The company also declared an interim dividend of 36 Australian (AU) cents per share, in line with 36 AU cents declared last year.
($1 = 1.5295 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Echha Jain and John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
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