SYDNEY, Australia (FNS) -- The Woolworths supermarket chain recorded an 11% boost in sales to $2.3 billion in the first quarter of the year, the company reported.
This compares with an 8% rise for the full year. Comparable-store sales grew 5.5% compared with 4.6% in the full year ended June 2000.
Roger Corbett, Woolworths chief executive officer, noted that the results were slightly better than expected and appeared not to have been adversely impacted by the new goods and services tax (GST).
He said the chain's market share had grown but wholesale sales dipped 9% due mainly to the exiting of unprofitable cigarette and export sales.
"We may see some slowdown from the level of sales growth achieved in the first quarter, but we are making continuing progress and are on track for a good year," Corbett said.
"We expect to achieve our twin goals of sales growth in the high single digits and earnings per share growth in the low double digits in the financial year to June 2001," he added.
The Woolworths Group includes 15 store brands and operates a total of 1,114 stores around Australia.
