The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price closed up a slender 0.1% yesterday to finish the day at $39.35 per share.
Woolworths' share price managed to shake off the broader selling trend, which saw the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) close the day down 0.3%.
It's been 3 weeks now since the supermarket giant reported its full year results for the 2021 financial year (FY21). With that in mind we take a look at how Woolworths shares have been tracking since releasing those results.
But first, a quick recap…
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What results did the ASX 200 retail giant report for FY21?
Investors were keeping a keen eye on the Woolworths share price when the company announced its FY21 results before market open on 26 August.
Among the key results, Woolies reported a 5.7% year-on-year increase in group sales to $67.28 billion.
With COVID-19 seeing many people confined to their homes, or reluctant to venture into public spaces, the company's eCommerce sales reached $5.60 billion, a massive 58.1% increase compared to FY20.
Woolworths chair Gordon Cairns commented on the surge in eCommerce, saying, "[O]ur investment in eCommerce over many years … has helped to drive sales of over $5.5 billion this year. Despite this increased investment, normalised Group ROFE [Return on Funds Employed] increased 1.4 points during the year to 15.1%."
Woolworths' earnings before interest and tax of $3.66 billion were up 13.7% year-on-year, while net profit after tax (NPAT) leapt 22.9% to $1.97 billion.
The strong results enabled Woolies to declare a final dividend of 55 cents per share, up from a final dividend of 49 cents per share in FY20.
On the same day, Woolies also reported its intention to conduct a $2 billion off-market share buyback.
How has the Woolworths share price moved since reporting those results?
On the day it reported, 26 August, the Woolworths share price gained 0.4%, closing at $40.99 per share.
Since market open on the reporting day, Woolies shares have lost 3.3%. By comparison, the ASX 200 is down 1.4% over that same period.
