Woolworths maintains guidance

Woolworths has maintained its sales and earnings guidance for fiscal 2010 and pointed to a change in customer behaviour driven by tough conditions produced by the global economic downturn.

Chief executive Michael Luscombe told shareholders at its annual general meeting in Sydney that while the company had entered its new fiscal year in an optimistic mood, there were uncertainties, such as rising interest rates.

"And whilst consumer confidence has started to recover, we believe many consumers have actually learned some lessons about how to manage their income more effectively and the quest to extract the best possible value will continue for some time to come," he said.

"Frugalism is a defining feature of the Australian consumer right now."

Mr Luscombe reconfirmed its guidance for fiscal 2010 sales to grow in the upper single digits, excluding petrol sales.

It expects earnings before interest and tax to continue to grow faster than sales and for net profit after tax to grow in a range of 8 to 11 per cent.