Australian grocer Woolworths Group Ltd reported a sales leap in the March quarter thanks to stockpiling related to the country's coronavirus shutdown, but warned the stampede was slowing and costs were mounting.
) reported a sales leap in the March quarter thanks to stockpiling related to the country’s coronavirus shutdown, but warned the stampede was slowing and costs were mounting.
However, Woolworths said the rush was already easing and the company faced mounting costs after hiring thousands of new staff to cope with the spike in demand. The coronavirus shutdown also closed pubs the company owns under a division it is planning to spin off, resulting in a likely pre-tax loss of up to A$35 million per month, it added.
Shares of Woolworths fell as much as 2% early on Thursday before recovering to be flat by midsession, while Coles and the broader market were up nearly 2%. Shares of both grocers are close to steady since global markets began convulsing in response to the virus in late February, while the broader Australian market is down almost a quarter.
Still, with Australia widely expected to experience recession and jobless numbers forecast to double to more than 10%, Banducci said he expected people to continue shopping less but buy more when they did, focusing more on cooking ingredients and less on pre-made goods.
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