february 2005

presentation to
investment analysts
woolworths holdings limited
woolworths holdings limited
Highlights
Financial review
Operational review
Clothing and home
Foods
Financial services
Trading space
Country Road
Prospects
agenda
woolworths holdings limited
Revenue up 13.9% - R6.4bn
Operating profit up 16.0% - R638m
Headline earnings per share up 16.2% - 46.7cps
Cash distribution up 42.3% - 18.5cps
Interim cover ratio down from 3.1 to 2.5 times
ROE of 27.4% (2003: 27.2%)
Financial services assets up 31% to R3.3bn
group highlights
Buoyant trading conditions in SA
Low inflation
Lower interest rates
Emerging market growth

Consumer spending in Australia slowed slightly
woolworths holdings limited
trading environment
woolworths holdings limited
income statement
Dec-04 Dec-03 %chg
Rm Rm
Revenue 6353.1 5579.7 13.9%
Turnover 6016.6 5266.0 14.3%
Cost of merchandise -4139.4 -3574.6 15.8%
Gross profit 1877.2 1691.4 11.0%
Other revenue 336.5 313.7 7.3%
Expenses -1575.8 -1455.1 8.3%
Operating profit 637.9 550.0 16.0%
Interest paid -62.0 -58.1 6.7%
Net profit before exceptional items 575.9 491.9 17.1%
Exceptional items - -5.0 -
Net profit before tax 575.9 486.9 18.3%
Tax -168.4 -146.0 15.3%
Net profit after tax 407.5 340.9 19.5%
Gross margin - on turnover 31.2% 32.1%
Operating margin - on revenue 10.0% 9.9%
78.6
64.8
46.2
32.3
25.4
38.5
29.0
20.0
15.0 14.0
1.8
2.2
2.3
2.2
2.0
-
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
HEPS DPS Distbn cover (rhs)
woolworths holdings limited
HEPS, DPS and cover
16.0 15.8
20.9
33.5
40.2
46.7
6.5 6.5
7.5
10.5
13.0
18.5
2.7
2.5
2.8
3.1 3.1
2.5
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
45.0
50.0
Dec-99 Dec-00 Dec-01 Dec-02 Dec-03 Dec-04
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
HEPS DPS Cover
woolworths holdings limited
balance sheet
Dec-04 Dec-03
Rm Rm %chg
Assets
Property, plant & equipment 1259.8 1145.1 10.0%
Export partnerships 164.4 177.8 -7.5%
Inventory 801.4 684.9 17.0%
Financial services assets 3326.2 2534.7 31.2%
Accounts receivable & other 817.7 707.5 15.6%
Cash 170.9 201.1 -15.0%
6540.4 5451.1
Equity and liabilities
Shareholders funds 3095.3 2672.0 15.8%
Accounts payable & deferred tax 1916.4 1798.4 6.6%
Borrowings - long term 500.0 - n/a
Borrowings - short term 1028.7 980.7 4.9%
6540.4 5451.1
Debt: equity 49.4% 36.7%
woolworths holdings limited
cash flow
Dec-04 Dec-03
Rm Rm
Cash inflow from trading - retail 494.8 460.2
Net interest received 225.5 212.4
Working capital movements -118.1 -67.5
Increase in borrowings 407.1 266.2
1009.3 871.3
Utilised by:
Tax paid -170.3 -175.4
Distributions paid -221.8 -159.2
Capex -207.9 -253.4
Proceeds from disposals/investment income 0.7 17.7
Financial services assets -456.4 -341.6
Shares issued 46.4 40.6
-1009.3 -871.3
woolworths holdings limited
cash flow (cont)
WW
Card
R302.9m
Personal
Loans
R95.7m
Visa
R57.8m
Other
R13.9m
IT
R58.5m
Retail
R135.4m
cash applied to financial services assets: R456.4m
capex: R207.9m
woolworths holdings limited
return on equity/wacc
11.6% 12.9% 18.3% 23.7% 25.7% 27.4%
19.0%
17.5%
16.3%
12.4%
13.7% 13.7%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Jun-00 Jun-01 Jun-02 Jun-03 Jun-04 Dec-04
ROE WACC
woolworths operating
group
woolworths operating group
retail results (excl financial services)
Dec-04 Dec-03 %chg
Rm Rm
Revenue 5,559.1 4,805.4 15.7%
Turnover 5,539.6 4,784.6 15.8%
Cost of merchandise -3,917.1 -3,348.9 17.0%
Gross profit 1,622.5 1,435.7 13.0%
Other revenue & interest received 19.5 20.8 -6.3%
Operating expenses -1,185.7 -1,064.9 11.3%
Operating profit 456.3 391.6 16.5%
Interest paid - -
Net profit before exceptional items 456.3 391.6 16.5%
Exceptional items - -5.0
Net profit before tax 456.3 386.6 18.0%
Tax -135.7 -116.8 16.2%
Net profit after tax 320.6 269.8 18.8%
Gross margin - on turnover 29.3% 29.9%
Operating margin - on revenue 8.2% 8.1%
ROE 62.9% 64.4%
Woolworths operating group
balance sheet (excl financial
services)
Dec-04 Dec-03 %chg
Rm Rm
Property, plant & equipment, investments,
deferred tax 1513.7 1381.6 9.6%
Inventory 705.4 557.9 26.4%
Accounts receivable 549.8 459.8 19.6%
Cash 108.1 163.5 -33.9%
Total assets 2877.0 2562.8 12.3%
Accounts payable, provisions and tax 1754.8 1649.8 6.4%
Borrowings - - -
Total shareholder interest 1122.2 913.0 22.9%
woolworths operations
turnover analysis
Dec-04 Dec-03 %chg
Rm Rm
Turnover 5546.0 4789.6 15.8%
Clothing and home 2685.5 2422.9 10.8%
Corporate (retail) 2364.5 2109.2 12.1%
Franchise (wholesale) - Local 233.5 189.8 23.0%
Franchise (wholesale) - International 87.5 123.9 -29.4%
Foods 2753.0 2282.0 20.6%
Corporate (retail) 2631.0 2225.1 18.2%
Franchise (wholesale) - Local 104.7 42.1 148.7%
Franchise (wholesale) - International 17.4 14.8 17.6%
Other - UPN & WFS 107.5 84.7 26.9%
financial services results
income statement and balance
sheet
Dec-04 Dec-03 %chg
Rm Rm
Income
Interest received 283.9 266.2 6.6%
Less: Interest paid -60.1 -56.0 7.3%
Net interest income 223.8 210.2 6.5%
Other income 70.4 57.3 22.9%
Total income 294.2 267.5 10.0%
Expenses
Operating costs -119.5 -112.5 6.2%
Net bad debts -33.8 -36.6 -7.7%
Increase in bad debt provision -28.8 -20.9 37.8%
Profit before tax 112.1 97.5 15.0%
Tax -32.7 -29.2 12.0%
Profit after tax 79.4 68.3 16.3%
Financial services assets 3326.2 2534.7 31.2%
Funded by:
Borrowings 1528.7 980.7 55.9%
Equity 1797.5 1554.0 15.7%
3326.2 2534.7 31.2%
Yield on average advances 17.8% 22.8%
ROE 8.9% 9.0%
country road limited results
income statement
Dec-04 Dec-03 %chg
A$m A$m
Revenue 103.9 100.0 3.9%
Turnover 103.1 98.7 4.5%
Cost of merchandise -48.7 -46.8 4.1%
Gross profit 54.4 51.9 4.8%
Other revenue 0.8 1.3 -38.5%
Operating expenses -53.2 -52.2 1.9%
Operating profit 2.0 1.0 100.0%
Interest paid -0.4 -0.4 -
Net profit before tax 1.6 0.6 166.7%
Gross margin - on turnover 52.8% 52.6%
Operating margin - on revenue 1.9% 1.0%
ROE 6.0% 2.4%
Exchange rate (average for the period R/A$) 4.45 4.93
country road limited results
balance sheet
Dec-04 Dec-03 %change
A$ m A$ m
Assets
Property, plant & equipment 26.8 25.3 5.9%
Trademarks* 11.1 11.3 -1.8%
Inventory 22.0 25.0 -12.0%
Accounts receivable 12.2 12.5 -2.4%
Cash 14.4 7.4 94.6%
86.5 81.5 6.1%
Equity and liabilities
Shareholders funds 54.3 50.8 6.9%
Accounts payable & provisions 32.2 30.7 4.9%
86.5 81.5 6.1%
* eliminated at WHL level
Exchange rate at balance sheet date (R/A$) 4.36 5.08
country road limited results
cash flow statement
Dec-04 Dec-03
A$m A$m
Cash generated from operations 5.9 4.3
Working capital movements 0.9 -3.5
Interest paid -0.3 -0.4
Taxation received - 0.1
Retained from operations 6.5 0.5
Capital expenditure -3.5 -3.5
Net cash inflow / (outflow) 3.0 -3.0
Opening cash balance 11.4 10.4
Closing cash 14.4 7.4
woolworths holdings limited
Pro-forma financial effects of the securitisation
and share repurchase as per the circular
Before the After the
securitisation and securitisation, After the
the scheme - June-04 before the scheme scheme
(cents) (cents) (cents) %chg
HEPS 78.6 76.5 79.5 3.9
EPS 77.4 75.3 76 0.9
Diluted EPS 75.3 73.3 73.7 0.7
NAV and TNAV per 328.3 328.3 237.2 -27.8
ROE (%) 25.7 25.1 38.4 53.0
No. No. No. No.
WANOS (million) 861.2 861.2 765.3 95.9
clothing & home
clothing and home
turnover and growth
Comparable growth of 8.4%
Local clothing and home grew by 13%
Inflation averaged 0.6% (Dec 03 inflation of 9.3%)
R 1,654
R 1,864
R 2,185
R 2,423
R 2,686
13%
17%
11% 11%
4%
R 0
R 500
R 1,000
R 1,500
R 2,000
R 2,500
R 3,000
Dec-00 Dec-01 Dec-02 Dec-03 Dec-04
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
Turnover Growth rate
clothing and home
rlc market share
Market share to November 2004

12 month moving average
this year 15.8%
last year 16.4%

3 month moving average
this year 14.9%
last year 15.8%


clothing

Pricing perceived as too high
Lack of focus on the Classic customer
Replenishment of core merchandise an issue
Too aggressive with the fashion ranges
Menswear Modern segment lacked appeal

clothing and home
performance
clothing

New leadership team in place
Design-led buying teams to deliver better focused
ranges
Focus on implementation and execution
Revisit our competitive pricing with selective offshore
sourcing
clothing and home
the way forward
clothing

Womenswear
Refocus on our Classic customer
Deliver the woolworths difference

Childrenswear
Focus on baby and young children
Reduce prices whilst maintaining quality levels
Better sourcing, gross margin decline, narrower ranges

Menswear
Design-centre to set look, style, taste, colour for season
Output more focused with clearer execution
clothing and home
the way forward
homeware

performance
Performed well in competitive market

the way forward
Continued focus on quality, range construction and value

clothing and home
performance & the way forward
foods
foods
turnover and growth
Comparable growth of 12.8%
Inflation averaged 3.3% (Dec 03 inflation of
8.6%)
R 1,254 R 1,548 R 1,939 R 2,282 R 2,753
14%
25%
21%
18%
13%
R 0
R 500
R 1,000
R 1,500
R 2,000
R 2,500
R 3,000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Turnover Growth rate
foods
rlc market share
Market share to Dec 04
12 month average
this year 7.7%
last year 7.1%
3 month moving average
this year 7.9%
last year 7.4%

Increasingly becoming customers main shop
More aggressive promotional strategy on key items
Continued good food strategy
Expansion of convenience offering (incl Engen)
Emerging market customer starting to shop in greater
depth
foods
performance
Improve availability of core
RDF system forecasting
Catalogue and space planning system
Food formats roll-out
Extension of grocery offering
Improve value perception
New innovative products/ranges
Bakery and meat - new thoughts

foods
the way forward
financial services
financial services
woolworths card
Card debtors increased by 27.4% to R2.4bn
Number of accounts increased by 9% to 1.16m
Contribution to sales increased to 33.7% (2003: 32.8%)

R 1,072
R 1,223
R 1,901
R 2,423
961 974
1029
1066
1163
R 1,508
2.9%
3.4%
1.9%
2.0%
1.7%
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
Dec-00 Dec-01 Dec-02 Dec-03 Dec-04
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
4.0%
Book Value (Rm) Number of Accounts ('000) Net Bad Debt
financial services
personal loans
Personal loans increased by 33.5% to R670m
Number of accounts increased by 16% to 137 000

R 193
R 357
R 400
R 502
R 670
54
79
96
117
137
1.3%
2.4%
3.5%
2.6%
1.0%
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Dec-00 Dec-01 Dec-02 Dec-03 Dec-04
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
4.0%
Book Value (Rm) Number of Accounts ('000) Net Bad Debt
financial services
visa card
Visa card increased by 77.7% to R234m
Number of accounts increased by 40% to 56 000
R 29
R 95
R 132
R 234
25
40
56
13
4.0%
3.5%
3.2%
3.1%
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Dec-01 Dec-02 Dec-03 Dec-04
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
4.0%
4.5%
Book Value (Rm) Number of Accounts ('000) Net Bad Debt
New management team
Fresh thinking emerging
Growth of book
Customer recruitment strategy
Disciplined credit-granting - balance growth with health of
book
Profitability
Interest rate decline versus H1 2004 reduces interest net
income by c. R55m
Potential consolidation of various money-lending acts
positive
Evaluating options to improve returns
Exit unit trust
financial services
the way forward
woolworths
operating group

selling
woolworths operations
trading space
June 2004
m2
Dec 2004
m2
% Change Projected
June 2005
% Change
Footage 368,300 380,844 3.4% 394,100
7.0%
Clothing and Home 289,400 298,619 3.2% 309,900
7.1%
Corporate 208,500 217,848 4.5%
Franchise - SA 45,900 46,985 2.4%
Franchise - International 35,000 33,786 -3.5%
Foods 78,900 82,225 4.2% 84,200
6.7%
Corporate 73,400 76,226 3.9%
Franchise - SA 2,500 3,161 26.4%
Franchise - International 3,000 2,838 -5.4%
Stores 255 263 3.1% 286
12.2%
Corporate 136 144 5.9%
Full line 76 82 7.9%
Clothing and Home 6 5 -16.7%
Foods 54 57 5.6%
Franchise - SA 63 67 6.3%
Franchise - International 56 52 -7.1%
Modernisation
Clothing and Home 30% 37% 46%
Foods 43% 51% 61%
Store development on track

Modernisation plan on track

Trading space opportunities
Cannibalisation and capacity
Trade density potential

woolworths operations
trading space
the pilot

Targeted at fast growing middle market LSM 5-6
Value proposition
Essential range of good quality food and household
items at EDLP (every day low prices)
5 stores piloted in Western Cape
Mixed results

country road limited
Strategic decisions over last 18 months starting to
deliver
Wholesale sales almost equalled previous levels
Retail volumes grew 18%
Affordable prices appealed to broader base of
customers
Brand relaunch with exciting new store fit-out
country road limited
performance
A$3m tranche of A$10m loan to be repaid in Q1
Improved strategic positioning
Better merchandise at accessible prices
Good systems
Better brand control
Cash generative
Steady progress for a sustained recovery
Successful brand repositioning takes a number of
seasons
country road limited
the way forward
woolworths holdings
limited

prospects
Economic environment
Expect interest rates and inflation to remain at low levels
Consumer spending to remain robust, fueled by access to credit
High base effect to impact on growth rates
Company prospects
Continued growth from Foods, Financial Services and Home
New team to begin delivering in Clothing
Country Road turnaround
Deliver growth in earnings

woolworths holdings limited
prospects