News: WOW Woolworths Q3 Australian Food sales up 5.1 pct to $9.3 bln

May 2 (Reuters) - Woolworths Ltd (WOW)

• Q3'17 Australian food sales up 5.1% to $9.3 billion with comparable sales growth of 4.5%
• "Due to investment we are undertaking as part of our revised plan, we expect Big W to report loss before interest and tax of $115-135 million for H2'17"
• On an easter adjusted basis, Q3 total sales increased by 5.6% and comparable sales grew by 4.5%.
• Petrol sales for quarter were $1.2 billion, an increase of 14% on prior year
• Q3 New Zealand food sales increased 2.1% on previous year to NZ$1.6 billion
• Big W sales declined by 8.6% in the third quarter
• "Expect to see further improvements in stockloss in second half, however, this may be partially offset by impact of continued input cost price increases"