Giant retailer Woolworths Ltd (ASX: WOW) welcomed a 'solid start' on its new financial year as its first quarter sales surged by 4.1 percent while the company's petrol volume turnovers jumped by 3.3 percent in value.

The supermarket operator said that sales racked up to $13.910 billion in the first quarter of 2010/11, which is an improvement from the $13.367 billion registered in the same period from the previous financial year.

Still exclusive of Woolworths' petrol sales figures, the company chalked up a total of $12.422 billion in total first quarter sales, which is a 4.2 percent jump from the same quarter last financial year.

The company's petrol sales shot up by 1.4 percent in volume and a higher 3.3 percent in value on the same period.

Woolworths chief executive Michael Luscombe hailed the fresh results as a strong springboard for the company's new financial year amidst the "underlying challenges for the retail sector such as tighter consumer spending and the deflationary impacts of the stronger Australian dollar."

On the other hand, Woolworths said that its non-fuel petrol sales increased by 10.3 percent in the same period.

Also, the retailer's food and liquor sales in Australia improved by 3.2 percent to $9.292 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2011 while the company's comparable store sales inched up by two percent.

Woolworths New Zealand retail operations registered sales surge of 4.7 percent to $NZ1.4 billion or $A1.07 billion in the first quarter.

The company's overall retail sales spikes came on the heels of a 1.8 percent rise in the total food inflation price index in the same period, coming from the 2.1 percent posted in fiscal 2010's first quarter.