Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) shares are on fire today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) supermarket giant closed yesterday trading for $20.73. In morning trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $22.37 apiece, up 7.9%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.2% at this same time.
This strong outperformance follows the release of Coles' full-year FY 2025 results.
Here are the highlights.
(*Coles noted that since FY 2024 was a 53-week year for reporting purposes, the normalised results below remove the impact of that 53rd week for comparability purposes with FY 2025.)
Image source: Getty Images
Coles shares surge on strong growth
Investors are piling into Coles shares after the company reported sales revenue of $44.35 billion. That's up 3.6% from FY 2024 on a normalised basis.
Supermarket sales revenue was particularly strong, increasing by 4.3% year on year, while liquor sales revenue was up 1.1%.
And Coles' eCommerce segment led the growth charge, with FY 2025 sales of $4.5 billion up an impressive 24.4%, and penetration increasing to 11.2%.
Reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from continuing operations of $3.94 billion were up 11.0%, with underlying EBITDA of $4.05 billion up 10.7% year on year. Management said this was underpinned by strong growth in supermarkets earnings.
On the bottom line, reported net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1.08 billion was up 2.4% for FY 2024. And underlying NPAT of $1.18 billion was up 3.1%.
Creating a modest drag on profits, the ASX 200 supermarket's financing costs increased by $99 million to $541 million over the year, with lease related financing costs increasing by $62 million.
As for the passive income, management declared a fully franked final dividend of 32.0 cents per Coles share, in line with last year's final dividend. Eligible investors can expect to see that hit their bank accounts on 22 September.
As at 29 June, Coles had cash and cash equivalents of $705 million, up 16.5% from 30 June 2024.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results lifting Coles shares today, CEO Leah Weckert said, "In FY25 we maintained a consistent focus on our strategic priorities."
Weckert added:
We were clear that value, quality and availability remained important to our customers. In addition, continuing to manage loss and delivering on our Simplify and Save to Invest commitments remained key to achieving our financial objectives. We made good progress in each of these areas resulting in increased customer satisfaction scores and earnings growth.
At the same time, we delivered several major milestones in our capital investment program, including the launch of our Kemps Creek ADC and two CFCs, and these investments are already delivering results.
What's next for Coles shares?
Looking at what could impact Coles shares in the year ahead, the company noted that in the first eight weeks of FY 2026, supermarkets sales revenue increased by 4.9% compared to the same period last year.
Coles also noted that FY 2026 will see its ADC (automated distribution centre) program deliver its first full year of annualised benefits.
As for the brick-and-mortar outlook, Coles said:
In supermarkets, this year we expect to open approximately 12 new stores and close two, and renew approximately 70 stores. In Liquor, as we optimise our network to ensure we are positioned in the right locations for long-term growth, we expect to open approximately 19 new stores and close approximately 25.
FY 2026 capital expenditure is expected to be approximately $1.2 billion.
With today's intraday gains factored in, Coles shares are up 21.9% since this time last year, not including those dividends.
