Woolworths made just $108 million in profit in 2023/24, down 93.3 per cent from the $1.7 billion the year before.

It follows $1.6 billion in writedowns that savaged its bottom line.

Excluding the impairments, the supermarket giant made $1.7 billion in net profit for the 53 weeks to June 30, down 0.6 per cent from the year before on a normalised basis.

In January, Woolworths recorded a $NZ1.6 billion ($A1.5 billion) non-cash impairment against the $NZ2.3 billion ($A2.1 billion) in goodwill on its balance sheets stemming from its 2005 acquisition of Foodland’s New Zealand.

It also recorded a $209 million loss on its 9.1 per cent stake in alcohol retailer Endeavour Group after changing how it accounted for that investment.

Woolworths had $67.9 billion in sales for 2023/24, up 3.7 per cent from the previous year after adjusting for the fact that it was slightly shorter.

Chief executive Brad Banducci said on Wednesday the inflation in its food business and Big W moderated significantly in the second half. Supermarket food prices dropped 0.2 per cent in the third quarter and 0.6 per cent in the fourth.

Moodys Ratings analyst Sean Williams said the retail group’s results were in line with expectations.

“At a group level, modest earnings growth in its Australian Food division offset weakness in New Zealand Food and Big W,” he said on Wednesday.

“Woolworths faces challenges in both its Big W and New Zealand Food divisions.

“Currently, we do not see these business units as a material drag on the company’s overall credit profile, given their small relative contribution within the group and the company’s strong credit metrics relative to rating tolerance levels. However, a material deterioration in profitability or losses could undermine Woolworths’ business profile over time.”

Woolworths’ annual results came a day after rival Coles revealed it had $39 billion in annual sales, up 6.2 per cent from the slightly shorter previous financial year, or a rise of 4.3 per cent on a normalised 52-week basis.

Coles’ profit rose 2.1 per cent to $1.1 billion on a normalised basis.

Coles noted a significant jump in online sales – up 30 per cent to make up nearly 10 per cent of its annual sales – and a significant drop in store thefts.

Woolworths declared a 40-cent per share special dividend and a final dividend of 57 cents, down one cent from last year. For the full year Woolworths will pay out $1.44 in dividends, up 38.5 per cent from 2022/23.

-with AAP