Woolworths Group has announced its Q3 sales results, including a revised profit outlook for Woolworths New Zealand to reflect a reduction in earnings in the second half.
Woolworths New Zealand Managing Director, Spencer Sonn says, ”The last quarter included the Omicron outbreak in Aotearoa which saw at its peak nearly 3000 of our team away as a result of COVID, including nearly 50% of our team off in our major Auckland Distribution Centres. We also experienced significant supply chain disruptions, and less availability of stock for our customers.
“While sales were steady, our COVID-19 related costs increased significantly as we prioritised keeping our team and customers safe. Woolworths Group has lowered its profit expectation for the New Zealand business as a result.
“Putting the health and safety of our team and customers first during the Omicron outbreak was absolutely the right thing to do, and we are pleased to see that peak impacts are now behind us.
“Despite this profit decline, we are continuing to invest extensively in Aotearoa. This includes a $1 billion investment plan to upgrade and build new stores across the motu, create new jobs, strengthen our supply chain, and drive digital innovation.
“We’re continuing to work hard to deliver the best value that we can for our customers and keep prices as low as possible despite the current inflationary environment and record cost increases coming through from our suppliers as they too face higher input costs, including raw materials, packaging, freight and transportation.”
The results also reveal that eCommerce sales increased by 18.3% in the quarter.
