Woolworths H1 Net Profit Declines 17%

Woolworths Ltd (OTC:

) reported a 17% drop in its first-half net profit. Woolworths' net profit for the six months to December 31 declined to 966.9 million Australian dollars (US$1.04 billion), versus A$1.16 billion, in the year-ago period. However, analysts were expecting a net profit of A$961.4 million. Its revenue climbed 5.0% to A$29.91 billion from A$28.48 billion. Woolworths announced its plans to pay an interim dividend of 59 Australian cents per share, versus 57 cents per share in the last year. WOLWF shares closed at $26.88 yesterday.