Australia’s leading retailer Woolworths Ltd. released record profit figures for the full business year ending June 2006. Net profit rose by 24.5 per cent over the 2005 business year to AUD 1.015bn (US$752mn). The revenue for the year increased by 20.2 per cent to AUD37.850bn (US$28bn). Woolworths said this result is the outcome of a consistent delivery of strategies which began in 1999.

In these years Woolworths was transformed from a chain of supermarkets into the nation’s largest groceries, liquor and pubs operation. Chief executive Roger Corbett who is responsible for this strategic change, will be succeeded by Michael Luscombe on October 1. Corbett will be retained as a consultant to the company for five years. “It was a strong result in a highly competitive market against a backdrop of tighter discretionary spending with our newly acquired businesses”, Corbett said.

Woolworths expects for the current year a net profit growth of 16 to 21 per cent and sales growth of eight to twelve per cent. With its main rival Coles Myer increasingly being speculated to be up for sale to private equity investors and/or leading multinational retailers, Woolworths will also become part of the speculation game in Australia’s retail sector.