Woolies reports 19pc H1 net profit rise, upgrades FY guidance AUSTRALIA'S largest supermarket chain Woolworths said its first-half net profit jumped 19 per cent as a result of higher food sales and a smaller writedown tied to the sale of its Dick Smith electronics stores than a year earlier. Net profit of $1.15 billion for the six months to December 31 compared to $966.9 million a year earlier, slightly missing the $1.195 billion average of seven analysts' forecasts compiled by Dow Jones Newswires.