Woolworths supermarket sales rose 4.6 per cent to $53.9 billion in the year to June 28, the supermarket giant reported on Wednesday, while Coles supermarket sales grew by 3.7 per cent to $41.5 billion in the same period.
"We made good progress on our strategy to be the first choice for customers during FY26, and this has led to solid improvement in performance," Woolworths boss Amanda Bardwell told an earnings call.
"We focused on rebuilding customer trust through investment in value and the customer experience, and by returning to the levels of retail excellence our customers expect of us."
During the first eight weeks of the current financial year, Woolworths lifted sales by 7.6 per cent, with the Ooshies campaign contributing 1.5 to two percentage points worth of that total.
Despite the success of the campaign, Ms Bardwell indicated that Woolworths had no plans to offer collectibles more frequently.
"We're really pleased to be able to bring these moments to customers, but it never replaces having a fundamentally great shopping experience every time that you shop at Woolies," she said.
"That's what we're focused on first and foremost."
Coles meanwhile saw sales moderate during the Ooshie promotion and rebound after it ended - but chief executive Leah Weckert said Tuesday it was too early to say whether its own momentum had fully recovered.
The Woolworths promotion, which ran through mid-July to early August, both brought in new customers and led to existing customers buying more items to score more Ooshies.
Woolworths was focused on working to retain its new customers, Ms Bardwell said.
For 2025/26, Woolworths made a net profit of $1.1 billion, up 18 per cent from $983 million the year before.
Its underlying earnings - before interest and tax - jumped 12.7 per cent to $3.1 billion on sales of $71.5 billion, an increase of 3.6 per cent in the year ended June 28.
Woolworths beat consensus expectations, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner.
Its group earnings were better than expected, as were its Australian supermarket sales in the fourth quarter and in the first eight weeks of the current financial year, Mr Toner said.
But the New Zealand supermarket operation and the business unit that consists of Big W and Petstock delivered disappointing results.
Same-store sales fell 1.9 per cent at Big W, suggesting there was more work to be done on the retail chain's transformation, Mr Toner said.
Woolworths said that progress had been made, with Big W returning to profitability with $64 million in 2025/26 earnings after it lost $35 million the year before.
Overall, the results should be pleasing for investors, said eToro lead APAC analyst Josh Gilbert.
He noted that the final dividend of 52 cents announced on Wednesday was a 15.6 per cent increase from a year ago.
"Woolworths might not be the most exciting name on the ASX, but this is what a supermarket recovery looks like," he said, adding that the Ooshies campaign was a huge win to carry momentum into the current financial year.
"The challenge is keeping those shoppers now that the toys have left the checkout."
Woolworths shares were changing hands at $40.01 in late afternoon trading, up three per cent from Tuesday's close and up 36 per cent year-to-date.
The group declared a final dividend of 52 cents, taking the total for the year to 97 cents, up 15.5 per cent on the prior year.
