Coles and Woolworths sell two-thirds of Australian groceries by dollar value, and are seen as bellwethers of consumer behaviour. Full-year NPAT of Woolworths is seen rising to A$1.74 billion from A$1.51 billion, and for Wesfarmers to A$2.47 billion from A$2.35 billion last year. Woolworths and Wesfarmers report annual results on Aug. 23 and Aug. 25, respectively. They added that rising operating costs are a headwind for retail companies, but focus will be on how these costs are managed. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Daniel Munoz, Jefferies, Coles, Tim Waterer, Himanshi Akhand, John Biju, Rashmi Organizations: REUTERS, Coles Group, Woolworths, KCM Trade, Kmart, Coles, UBS, Thomson Locations: Sydney's, Australia, Bengaluru