Woolworths says its New Zealand supermarket chain increased its half year gross earnings by 9% to $162.3 million despite slowing demand.
The Australian supermarket operator said sales at its 165 Countdown stores rose 2% to $2.9 billion.
The company has continued to take market share from Foodstuffs' Pak'nSave and New World supermarket chains, customer numbers have increased and shoppers are buying more items and spending more.
Including its Australian operations, overall profit excluding one-off items rose 4% to $A1.3 billion.
Woolworths sold its Dick Smith electronics chain last year, and in October said it would spin off 69 shopping centres into a separate listed unit to focus on its core retail business .