Coles reports 8% surge in annual profit to $1.1bn amid cost-of-living crisis

Supermarket operator Coles has posted a surge in revenue from its groceries business, underpinning an 8.3% rise in annual profit to $1.1bn even as shoppers grappled with rising household costs.

Australia’s second largest supermarket chain significantly expanded its profit margins from its supermarket business to 5.2% from 4.8% a year ago, and recorded a jump in the number of people shopping online as well as those buying its own brand groceries.

Coles attributed a big lift in supermarket…