Coles Group Limited (ASX: COL) has announced its sales for the March 2019 quarter.
After 10 years being owned by Wesfarmers, Coles Group was split from the broader Wesfarmers conglomerate (which owns Bunnings Warehouse) in November 2018. However, the Coles name has operated in Australia for 100 years. Today Coles is one of the largest retailers in the country, serving 21 million customers per week across its supermarkets, Coles Express, Online, Vintage Choice and others.
Coles’ FY19 Third Quarter Sales
The supermarket boasted about delivering the 46th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth, although this statement only related to the supermarket & liquor divisions, which excludes Coles Express.
The supermarket segment grew sales to $7.27 billion, which represented growth of 3.2% and comparable sales growth of 2.4%. This was achieved despite
The liquor business managed to increase sales by 4.3% to $735 million, which was helped by comparable sales growth of 3.5%.
The supermarkets and liquor businesses combined grew sales by 3.3% to $8 billion on the back of comparable sales growth of 2.5%.
Coles Express saw sales of $874 million, down from $1.29 billion. However, Coles explained that “Express was in a transitional period for the quarter as a result of entering into the new agreement on 1 March 2019 [with Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA)]. Fuel sales revenue is not included after this date.”
Coles Online grew by 27% with sales now over $1 billion on a rolling 12-month basis.
The CEO of Coles Group, Steven Cain, commented:
“We delivered a solid outcome for the third quarter. We know that customer expectations are changing faster than ever, and we are resolutely focused on delivering our Fresh Tomorrow strategy.
“We were also pleased to provide support for communities impacted by natural disasters such as floods in Far North Queensland, bushfires in Tasmania and Victoria, and Cyclone Veronica in WA.”
Is Coles A Buy?
Coles continues to create sales growth, which should help grow its bottom line, although very slowly. It could turn into a decent dividend stock for shareholders, but I wouldn’t expect a lot of capital or profit growth in the future.
For me portfolio I would rather have one of the proven and reliable ASX shares mentioned in the free report below.
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