Coles (COL) $20.38

COL +3.5%: Released solid 1H25 results as the grocer posted a strong 1H and a decent run-rate moving into 2H in its Supermarkets division.

• Supermarket sales $20.63 billion (+4.3% yoy) vs. estimate $20.45 billion
• Net profit $576 million (-2.2% yoy), a +3% beat to estimate $560.5 million
• Liquor earnings-before-interest and tax $67 million, -20% yoy vs. estimate $76.4 million
• Interim dividend per share $0.37 vs. $0.36 yoy

The first 7 weeks of third quarter sales are off to a good start where Supermarkets revenue grew by 3.4%, inline with Woolworths result yesterday but there was higher expectations built in for them. Liquor earnings were disappointing in isolation but not a huge factor given their lower total contribution to earnings. Promisingly, Coles showed strong ecommerce sales growth of 22.6% in Supermarkets and 9.2% in liquor over the period, a segment they have historically lagged behind in.