Table:
|  | F19 | F18 |  | CHANGE |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| $ MILLION | 53 WEEKS | 52 WEEKS | CHANGE | NORMALISED |
| Sales | 39,568 | 37,589 | 5.3% | 3.3% |
| EBITDA | 2,613 | 2,430 | 7.5% | 6.1% |
| Depreciation and amortisation | (756) | (673) | 12.3% | 12.3% |
| EBIT | 1,857 | 1,757 | 5.7% | 3.8% |
| Gross margin (%) | 28.7 | 29.0 | (24) bps | (24) bps |
| Cost of doing business (%) | 24.0 | 24.3 | (27) bps | (26) bps |
| EBIT to sales (%) | 4.7 | 4.7 | 2 bps | 2 bps |
| Sales per square metre ($) | 17,163 | 16,528 | 3.8% | 2.0% |
| Funds employed | 1,468 | 1,215 | 20.9% |  |
| ROFE (%) | 140.2 | 170.7 | (30.6) pts | (33.2) pts |
Paragraphs:
Australian Food’s VOC NPS (including Online) was up 3 pts on the prior year with Store‐controllable VOC steady on the prior year. Store‐controllable VOC improved on Q3’19 where scores were impacted by flood and drought effects on fruit and vegetable prices impacting quality and availability. Fruit & Vegetables and Availability scores improved 1 pt to 78% compared to June 2018, and 5 pts and 2 pts respectively vs. Q3’19. Team Attitude remained stable (89%) compared to June 2018.
In F20, Store‐controllable VOC will be reduced from seven metrics to five, removing Ease of Movement and Correct Price Tickets to simplify the focus for stores on the areas that offer the most opportunity for improvement.
Sales increased by 5.3% to $39.6 billion or 3.3% on a normalised basis. Comparable sales increased by 3.1% for the year with transaction growth of 1.8% and items per basket of 1.7% contributing to comparable item growth of 3.5%.
Despite some challenges during the year, sales momentum improved in H2 with strong growth across a number of Fresh categories. Sales in the second half also benefitted from successful campaigns including Disney Words and Earn & Learn. In Q4, comparable sales increased by 3.6% with comparable transaction growth of 1.4%. Comparable items per basket increased by 1.2%.
Metro continued to grow strongly with further refinement to price, promotional optimisation and range curation. An extra‐small store format was successfully launched in Kirribilli and new stores opened in Rozelle and Kings Cross. At the end of the financial year, 43 Metro‐branded stores and 16 small Woolworths Supermarkets were managed by the Metro team.
In WooliesX, Online VOC scores improved 2 pts to 81% at the end of June, with improvements in Delivery & Pick up and Ease of Website Navigation. Online sales grew 31% (normalised) to $1.4 billion driven by expanded offerings such as Same day, Delivery Now, Drive thru and Drive up.
Australian Food sales per square metre was $17,163 with normalised growth of 2.0% on the prior year. During the year, 24 new stores were opened (21 supermarkets and three Metros), eight were closed and 68 Renewals completed. At year‐end, there were 1,024 Woolworths Supermarkets and Metro stores.
Average prices declined 0.4% for the year, with modest inflation of 0.5% in the fourth quarter as a result of increases in a number of Fresh categories impacted by the drought including Fruit & Vegetables, Meat and Bakery.
Question:
How many Metro-branded stores were managed by the Metro team by the end of the financial year?
Answer: 43