NATIONAL supermarket giant Woolworths shares have surged by record one-day highs following better-than-expected performance in half-year results delivered yesterday.

In a substantial turnaround in fortunes, Woolworths’ Australian food (supermarket) division, which accounts for 90pc of company sales, reported sales of $27.62 billion for the half-year ended 31 December, up 3.6pc on the same period the year before. Pre-tax earnings were $1.51 billion, up almost 10pc.

After conceding ground to rival, Coles, the nation’s largest retailer is now winning back shoppers and clawing back market share across the supermarket sector.

Woolworths shares were trading at $36.26 this afternoon, after rising from $31.46 just prior to yesterday’s financials, rising $4.80 or 15pc – the single largest daily rise in the company’s history.

Fresh Food (including red meat) and grocery sales grew strongly while sales in everyday items showed some improvement in the second quarter, shareholders were told.

Woolworths group CEO Amanda Bardwell said the company was making progress on its strategy outlined in August, having invested in its fresh food offering, on-demand convenience and in-store execution.

“All customer metrics have improved, trading momentum is stronger and we are seeing market share stabilise,” Ms Bardwell said.

“As we look to the second half, trading in the third quarter (January-March) to date has been strong in Australian Food; however, customers continue to be value-focused, shopping multiple retailers in a highly competitive environment,” she said.

Overall, Woolworths divisions group performance saw sales increased by 3.4pc in the first half and pre-tax earnings before significant items increased by 14.4pc.

Sales momentum improved in the second quarter ended December, with strong eCommerce growth and improved in-store item trends.

Current trading and outlook

Trading in the first seven weeks of the second half had been strong in Australian Food with Woolworths Food Retail sales growth of 5.8pc driven by strong store item growth and more active eCommerce.

Woolworths national retail store numbers grew to 1127 during the first half ended 31 December.

On the strength of the numbers, the Woolworths board declared a fully-franked interim dividend of 45c/share, increasing 15.4pc on the same period a year earlier.