By Reuters Staff2 Min Read(Reuters) – Coles Group on Wednesday forecast greater prices for fiscal 2023, as inflationary pressures proceed to affect operations, and added that the COVID-19 pandemic and flu season have contributed to elevated staff member absenteeism prices.FILE PHOTO: A girl walks within the fruit and greens part at a Coles grocery store in Sydney, Australia, February 20, 2018. Picture taken February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/Retailers globally have warned that rising power, gas and ingredient prices will proceed to mirror in greater worth tags as they try to guard their margins, whilst consumers swap to lower-priced items amid a cost-of-living squeeze.The Melbourne-based retailer stated capital expenditure is anticipated to be between A$1.2 billion ($829.32 million) and A$1.4 billion in fiscal 2023, in contrast with a web capex of A$1.14 billion this yr.The price of doing enterprise as a share of gross sales elevated by 50 foundation factors to 21.4% in 2022 on account of greater gas prices and underlying price inflation, Coles stated.“Consistent with our suppliers and customers, we are also seeing inflationary pressures impacting our own cost base with increasing wages, rent, fuel, supply chain and capital costs,” the corporate stated in an announcement.The over 100-year-old firm incurred A$240 million in COVID-related prices, in contrast with about A$130 million final yr.It posted a 4.3% rise in revenue to A$1.05 billion for the yr ended June 30, boosted by on-line gross sales as individuals stocked up on important gadgets throughout prolonged lockdowns within the first half of the yr.The retailer additionally declared a ultimate dividend of 30 Australian cents per share, in contrast with 28 cents final yr.Coles and greater rival Woolworths, which collectively promote about two-thirds of Australian groceries, benefited initially from a rush of “pantry loading” as pandemic-related restrictions prompted individuals to spend extra time at dwelling.Coles stated it has elevated the capital expenditure for its Witron and Ocado initiatives.($1 = 1.4470 Australian {dollars})Reporting by Harish Sridharan and Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.