Customers feeling war impact, supermarket giant warns
The country’s largest supermarket chain has warned that Australian consumers are feeling the impact of high petrol prices as well as ongoing cost of living pressures.
Woolworths, which claims to have a share of close to a third of the market with almost 1,000 stores, reported on Thursday that its total sales in the third quarter increased by 4.5 percent to $18.1 billion.
Most of the revenue came from food sales, which rose almost six percent to $13.8 billion.
But CEO Amanda Bardwell signaled that the outlook for fourth-quarter earnings will be less clear, especially if the conflict in the Middle East continues.
“We are seeing early signs that the conflict in the Middle East is impacting our customers and our team, many of whom are already experiencing significant cost of living pressures,” Ms Bardwell said.
“Our primary focus since March has been to take the necessary steps across the group to minimize the impact on customers.”
Oil prices have risen since the US attacked Iran on February 28, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the main shipping route for about 20 percent of the world’s crude oil.
Upward pressure on the price of Brent crude oil, which reached $120 per barrel on Thursday, has increased the cost of gasoline and diesel used by consumers and businesses.
“The Group has moved quickly to respond to this environment and we are in regular contact with the government as response plans are developed,” Ms Bardwell said, referring to efforts to secure fuel supplies to Australia.
“It is too early to predict with certainty the direct and indirect impacts of the conflict in the Middle East on fiscal 2027 and how this will affect customers’ shopping behavior.”
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
