Woolworths Group’s New Zealand business posted higher earnings in the first half on the back of its transformation and positive performance of its fresh and e-commerce segments.

The supermarket chain’s New Zealand food business saw earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) surge 15.2 per cent to $82 million as revenue increased 2.7 per cent to $4.29 billion. Comparable sales climbed 3.3 per cent.

During the period, Woolworths NZ opened two new Mini Woolies, closed two Woolworths stores, and completed 11 renewals.

“In New Zealand food, we expect continued progress from our transformation with EBIT in H2 expected to be above H2 last year,” said Amanda Bardwell, Woolworths Group CEO.

Earlier this month, the group announced Sally Copland will return to New Zealand as MD of Woolworths New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Australian food sales climbed 2.7 per cent to A$26.66 billion, and Australian business-to-business sales jumped 5.5 per cent to $2.98 billion.

Sales in the W Living business – Big W, Healthylife, MyDeal, and Petstock – soared 16.1 per cent to $3.08 billion.

The group’s overall net profit fell 20.6 per cent to $739 million, while group sales increased 3.7 per cent to $35.93 billion.

The company attributed the lower profit to the 17-day industrial action impacting its Australian supermarket business last December, a trend of customers seeking more value when shopping, one-off supply chain commissioning costs and a lower EBIT from Big W.