Coles profit surges to $1.1bn as shoppers grapple with cost-of-living crisis

Greens accuse company of price-gouging, as supermarket attributes sales boost to seasonal campaigns and rising digital revenue

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Coles has posted a surge in revenue from its groceries business and expanded supermarket profit margins to the highest level recorded in the pandemic era, even as shoppers grapple with fast-rising household costs.

The revenue bump underpinned a robust rise in annual profit to $1.1bn. It threatens to draw Australia's second largest chain back into the public limelight as cost-of-living pressures become a central political issue for the next federal election.

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