Net profit was down more than 20 per cent compared to the first half of the 2024 financial year while earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) were about 14 per cent lower, coming in below market expectations.

The company - which includes its main supermarket chain internally called Australian Food, its B2B arm, BIG W, and its New Zealand chain – said its poor result was partly attributable to weeks of industrial action across four distribution centres and one partner site.

“The decline in Group EBIT reflected lower EBIT from Australian Food which was impacted by 17 days of industrial action disrupting the flow of stock,” Woolworths Group told shareholders.

Woolworths also noted the industrial action, alongside allegations of deceptive marketing from the consumer watchdog, tore into its customer scores which it said were trending positively in the first quarter of FY25.

It said EBIT at the main supermarket declined by 12.8 per cent over the six-month period but would have dropped by about five per cent over the period if the impact of the industrial action, supply chain costs and inflationary pressures were excluded.

The grocery giant would have increased sales by an additional one per cent which meant its main supermarket arm suffered a $240m reduction in sales for the period.

Shareholders will be delivered a fully franked interim dividend of 39c per share compared with 47 cents per share for 1H24.

Woolworths Group Chair Scott Perkins acknowledged the company’s poor performance during the six-month period and vowed to address the woes going forward.

“The fundamentals of our business remain strong and we are committed to meet our customers’ needs and create value for shareholders,” Mr Perkins said.

“The Board has declared a fully franked interim dividend per share of 39c with the reduction compared to the prior year reflecting lower earnings.”

Woolworths Group chief executive Amanda Bardwell, who took the top job about 12 months ago, said the company was beginning to return to form after the weeks long strike hindered its operations.

“Customer metrics have begun to improve following a challenging half which was impacted by industrial action and ongoing cost of living pressures,” Ms Bardwell said.

She has also flagged job losses at Woolworths’ support office as it looks to make about $400m in savings.

“We have also begun to simplify our above store support office which is expected to lead to annualised gross cost savings of approximately $400 million by the end of calendar 2025,” Ms Bardwell said.

“This is in addition to our ongoing store and supply chain productivity program which provides some offset to annual inflation.”

Woolworths Group has flagged stronger sales in the first seven weeks of the second half of the 2025 financial year amid a more stable trading environment and greater e-commerce growth.

The company’s share price initially jumped about two per cent upon the release of its 1H25 results before coming back down.