BRISBANE - [AAP] Woolworths' (ASX: WOW) first-half profit jumped 37.6 per cent to $969 million after comparable food sales at its Australian supermarkets rose 4.9 per cent.

The retail giant on Friday increased its interim dividend by more than 25 per cent to a fully franked 43 cents after pre-tax earnings for the 27 weeks to December 31 soared by 9.9 per cent.

Total group revenue rose 3.8 per cent to $30 billion driven by strong sales growth from its supermarkets, Dan Murphy's, BWS and the group's hotels.

Comparable food sales rose 4.9 per cent compared to the same period a year ago with like-for-like sales growth particularly strong at 5.1 per cent in the second quarter.

The comparable food sales growth far outpaced that of rival Coles, which on Wednesday recorded comparable food and liquor sales growth of 0.9 per cent for the half and 1.4 per cent for the second quarter.

Chief executive Brad Banducci said food sales growth may moderate in the second half but added that its labouring discount department store Big W will lift performance in the period.

Mr Banducci, who led the supermarkets division before becoming chief executive, said the growth was an early sign of the group's transformation.

"The emphasis on transforming our business will continue in the second half and into the 2019 financial year," Mr Banducci said in a statement to the ASX on Friday.

"Our goal is to deliver a consistently good experience for our customers and team and leverage end-to-end process redesign and technology to improve our underlying productivity."

WOOLIES' CHANGES PAY DIVIDENDS IN H1

* Profit up 37.6pc to $969m

* Revenue up 3.8pc to $30bn

* Fully franked interim dividend up nine cents to 43 cents

 

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