Woolworths posts billion-dollar profit

Australia's largest retailer, Woolworths, has posted a $1 billion profit for the past financial year.

The result, which is the first billion-dollar profit for the company, is up 24.3 per cent on the previous year.

Woolworths says sales were up 20.4 per cent to $37.6 billion while earnings before interest and tax topped $1.7 billion - an increase of 32.3 per cent.

The outgoing chief executive officer, Roger Corbett, says the result is at the top end of Woolworths' expectations.

"The result is the outcome of consistent delivery against our strategies which commenced with stage one of Project Refresh in 1999," he said in a statement.

"The result reflects strong underlying operating performance, strong cost control and maintenance of our focus on the customer."

The company says it expects sales next year to increase by between 8 per cent and 12 per cent.

Michael Luscombe, the chief operating officer, says Woolworths has an excellent foundation for growth.

"Numerous opportunities exist to drive our core business through a combination of space roll-out, new categories and new merchandise," he said in a statement.