Discount supermarket Aldi is tightening the gap on Australian grocery giants Coles and Woolworths, reporting $13.3 billion in sales last year and sending $900 million in dividends to its reclusive German owners.

The latest financial filings for Aldi Australia, lodged with the corporate regulator, show sales rose from $12.09 billion in 2023, making it the third-largest grocery retailer in the country.

Coles reported $39.98 billion in sales for fiscal 2025, while Woolworths’ supermarket arm reached $51.45 billion.

Despite this, Aldi’s growth rate is nearly 10% year-on-year, which is around triple that of its bigger rivals.

Aldi Australia’s profit for 2024 edged up to $403.7 million, though rising staff wages pushed total expenses to $1.47 billion, up from $1.28 billion the previous year.

The real financial windfall, however, goes to Aldi’s Austrian parent company, Aldi Süd KG, owned by the notoriously private German Albrecht family.

According to the report, $400 million in dividends was paid during 2024, with an additional $500 million transferred after the reporting period.

This follows $480 million in 2023 and $320 million in 2022, bringing cumulative dividends from Australian stores to around $2 billion.

Since opening its first Australian store in 2001, Aldi has grown to 602 outlets nationwide, winning over shoppers with low-priced, private-label groceries and non-food items, from liquor to power tools.

Its annual events, such as the popular ski sale, have made it the country’s largest retailer of ski gear.

Aldi’s rapid expansion and high dividend payouts highlight the contrast between its lean, small-format model and the traditional supermarket chains.

Australian Taxation Office data shows Aldi reported $12.5 billion in fiscal 2024 sales and paid $178.63 million in tax.