Coles Group (ASX:COL) reported Friday fiscal first-half earnings of AU$0.506 per basic share excluding significant items, up from AU$0.45 a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of AU$0.51.

Revenue for the six months ended Jan. 4 was AU$23.69 billion, compared with AU$23.11 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected AU$23.77 billion.

The company said in the first seven weeks of the fiscal third quarter, supermarkets sales revenue rose by 3.7%, while liquor sales dropped by 2.5%.

The board declared an interim dividend of AU$0.41 per share, up from AU$0.37 a year earlier, payable March 30 to shareholders on record as of March 11.