By Mike Cherney

SYDNEY--Woolworths Group Ltd., one of Australia's largest grocers, said annual net profit rose and promised a substantial share buyback, as a pandemic-driven surge in sale sales continues.

The company, which recently spun out its drinks and hotels business, said statutory net profit for the 2021 fiscal year was about 2.1 billion Australian dollars ($1.5 billion), up 78%.

Profit from continuing operations was A$1.6 billion, up 73%, while revenue from continuing operations was A$55.7 billion, up nearly 5.0%.

The company declared a final dividend of 55 Australian cents per share, up 14% from last year.

Woolworths also announced an off-market share buyback of A$2 billion.

Looking ahead, Woolworths said making any predictions about the 2022 fiscal year is difficult given the uncertain path of the pandemic.

Grocery sales have surged as locked down consumers increase at-home consumption, though it's unclear how long that will continue particularly as vaccination rates rise and social distancing restrictions ease.

Woolworths said Australian food sales were 4.5% higher in the first eight weeks of the 2022 fiscal year. It said the sales growth was higher than anticipated and was a result of the lockdowns across the country.

Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-25-21 1924ET