Woolworths has become the latest major retailer to be struggling on the high street but growing on the web.

In a preliminary financial results announcement, the company warned that it will cut its dividend to shareholders by two-thirds, despite a 30 per cent rise in annual profit before tax.

But the group reported retail like-for-like sales – a key success measure for high street shops – down 3.2 per cent, while multichannel sales – covering the web as well as catalogues – increased 5.2 per cent.

“The retail environment is likely to remain challenging in the current year, “ said chief executive Trevor Bish-Jones.

“We will, therefore, continue to manage the business tightly."