** Shares of supermarket chain Coles Group COL.AX rise 4.5% to all-time high of A$20.61
** Stock among top 10 gainers in the ASX200 benchmark index .AXJO, which is up 0.6%
** Coles reports HY net profit after tax from continuing operations of A$576 million ($363.51 million), largely in line with Visible Alpha consensus of A$574.1 million
** Co's supermarkets division's sales rise 4.3%, ahead of 2.7% growth at Woolworths's WOW.AX Australian Food
** Comparable sales growth for supermarkets at 3.4%, beating consensus estimate of 2.96%
** Strike at Woolworths' warehouses benefit Coles; results in incremental A$120 million in sales
** Solid result with sales outperformance relative to Woolworths and strong margins - Jefferies
** "We expect consensus will lift a touch," Jarden analysts say
** COL up 8.6% this year, including the day's move, compared with 1.4% growth in WOW
($1 = 1.5845 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru)
((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com;))
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