Shareholders will receive a special dividend of 40¢ a share, resulting in a total dividend of $1.44 a share for the 2024 financial year.

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Prices at the country’s largest supermarket fell 0.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent in the March and June quarter, respectively, marking the first time prices at Woolworths have fallen since the first half of 2022, as the supermarket passed on lower costs to customers, particularly in fruit, vegetables and meat.

Woolworths’ e-commerce sales grew by 20.2 per cent as Aussies increasingly do their grocery shopping online.

The numbers indicate that the grocery giant is on some measures falling behind rival Coles, which on Tuesday revealed net profits lifted 2.1 per cent and e-commerce sales rose 30.1 per cent. Coles has taken steps to expand its home brand ranges to lure customers away from Aldi as the German supermarket’s low prices and exclusive brands become appealing to shoppers looking to save.

The results are Banducci’s last, capping off his eight years at the helm as he prepares to hand over in a few days to Amanda Bardwell, who currently leads the company’s digital unit, WooliesX.

Banducci, who finishes on Friday, said he was compiling a list of items he had wanted to achieve as chief executive but didn’t, which will be presented to his team before he departs.

‘I made some mistakes earlier this year, we can agree, but ... I’ve tried every minute of every day to fix them.’

Outgoing Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci

“I’ll spend the last couple of weeks working in stores, including ... home deliveries,” he said,

“There are many things I would’ve maybe played differently. I made some mistakes earlier this year, we can agree, but … I shouldn’t be judged by not trying to fix them. I’ve tried every minute of every day to fix them.”

Banducci announced his retirement days after attracting criticism for walking out of a Four Corners interview with ABC reporter Angus Grigg while being questioned about market concentration in the supermarket sector. Chairman Scott Perkins dismissed suggestions that the retirement was related to the heightened criticism Banducci was facing.

Looking beyond Woolies’ Australian supermarkets, the company’s New Zealand business is weighing heavily on the balance sheet, with normalised earnings nosediving 57 per cent as high wage increases of 19 per cent over two years outpaced sales growth.

The New Zealand arm’s poor performance has resulted in a $1.5 billion writedown that, taken together with a loss on Woolworths’ investment in bottle shop owner Endeavour Group, pushed profits down more than 90 per cent to $108 million.

Discount retailer Big W is also underperforming, posting a 3.9 per cent slide in sales and a steep 90.3 per cent dive in earnings as higher discounting resulted in lower revenue in its home and clothing categories.

Banducci pointed to the pullback in discretionary spending and customers’ trading down as the factors behind the decline.

The discount department store, which faces stiff competition from its more successful rival Kmart, plans to simplify its range and work harder to lower prices.

While earnings since the start of the new financial year are looking stronger, its profit outlook is “contingent” on the crucial upcoming holiday and Christmas trading period, said Banducci.

Investors appeared to welcome Woolworths’ results, sending its share price 2.8 per cent higher in afternoon trading.

“Woolworths has delivered a strong result from its food division with a combination of good cost control and better gross margins. The special dividend will please shareholders,” said MST Marquee senior research analyst Craig Woolford.

“The prospects for [fiscal 2025] indicate modest growth and the focus will be on the platform that new CEO Amanda Bardwell sets when she commences in the role on September 1, 2024.”

Bardwell told reporters on Wednesday she was excited to begin in the role to “build better customer experiences” and reiterated the focus on providing value to customers.

“That’s about meeting our customers where they are. That’s what’s going to be critical for us in the year ahead.”

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