Shares in supermarket retailer Coles Group Ltd (ASX:COL) rose more than 7% to $22.26 in early trade after the company lifted dividends despite posting a full-year profit decline, weighed down by weak liquor earnings. The group also flagged a strong start to financial year 2026 (FY26) for its core supermarket division.
Citi analyst Adrien Lemme described the update as “in-line” and noted that the “strong trading update should be well received considering recent share price weakness”. Analysts at Barrenjoey, including Tom Kierath, highlighted the stronger-than-expected momentum in supermarket sales, with fourth-quarter 2025 growth of 4.5% against a forecast of 3.9%. That strength carried into the first seven weeks of FY26, where sales rose 4.9%, comfortably ahead of the 3.8% consensus, despite the drag from tobacco.
Coles chief executive Leah Weckert also raised concerns over escalating retail crime, particularly in Victoria. Speaking after the results, she said: “During that period we have improved on (stock loss), the market has not and so we are continuing to see loss issues, theft, organised crime as real issues for the broader retail industry. And despite all the investments that we’ve made in the (stock) loss technology, despite the investment that we’ve made in safety initiatives for our team, we are continuing to see increases in threatening situations in store.”
She added that “it is definitely the case that in Victoria that retail crime is escalating more than what we are seeing in other states.”
Her comments follow those of Super Retail Group’s chief executive, who last week warned that crime was out of control and operating on an “industrial scale”, with Victoria the hardest hit.