Australian grocer Woolworths’ quarterly sales rise on higher prices

(Reuters) -Australian grocer Woolworths Group said on Thursday first-quarter sales rose 1.8%, helped by higher prices of products and a jump in sales in its domestic business-to-business (B2B) segment.

Retailers have been raising prices to cope with higher fuel and ingredient costs. Australia’s inflation has hit its fastest pace in 32 years, leading the central bank to hike interest rates seven times so far this year.

Total group sales for the country’s biggest supermarket chain rose to A$16.36 billion ($10.39 billion) in the first quarter and narrowly beat a Jefferies estimate of A$16.33 billion.

“Ongoing supply-chain volatility and the possibility of another wet summer will be key challenges to navigate but we are seeing strong early sell-through of seasonal lines and we remain cautiously optimistic for the period ahead,” Woolworths Chief Executive Brad Banducci said.

In Australian B2B, quarterly sales surged 26% to about A$1.20 billion, which helped offset a 0.5% drop in the company’s biggest segment, Australian Food, and an 8.1% fall in sales from New Zealand.

($1 = 1.5746 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan and Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)