Full year profits for discount grocer Lidl have soared by more than 300% as shoppers continue to make the switch from traditional supermarkets.
In the 52 weeks ended 28 February 2022, the discount grocer saw a hike in pre-tax profits of £41.1 million, compared with £9.8 million last year. EBIT also saw an 80% rise to £79 million, from £44 million in the same period last year.
Sales at the sixth largest supermarket in the UK, edged up 1.5% to £7.8 billion, a 13% rise against a two-year comparison.
The retailer, which says shoppers switched £58m spend to Lidl from traditional supermarkets the last month alone, has also seen more than 770,000 additional customers a week shopping in its stores compared to last year.
It claims that 60% of British householders now shop at its stores as it pledged to provide customers with the lowest prices this Christmas.
“As the cost-of-living crisis deepens, we are more focused than ever on supporting our colleagues, our customers and the communities we serve,” Lidl GB CEO Ryan McDonnell said.
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“This year alone we have invested £50 million raising hourly pay rates making us the highest paying retailer, we’ve donated 5 million meals, and we’re serving over 770,000 more customers a week compared to last year.
“As a discount supermarket we are in the best possible position to support people through these challenging times, and it’s our absolute priority that we continue to do so.”
Since March this year, Lidl invested £10 million increasing hourly wages from a minimum of £9.00 to £9.30 per hour outside of London and £10.55 to £10.75 within the M25, directly benefitting over 19,000 employees.
It also continues to accelerate with store expansion, having invested £653 million on land and fixed assets, as it opened 50 new stores, two distribution centres and a new head office located in Tolworth.
McDonnell added: “Our business model is built for the long term and I’m incredibly proud of our continued growth in recent months, which builds on our strong performance across 2021.
“During this time, we’ve made further investments across all areas of our business, building even more stores and distribution centres, hiring more colleagues, increasing pay rates, investing in our British supplier base and contributing to the communities we operate in.”
It added that customers have already started stocking up on key Christmas essentials earlier in a bid to spread out the cost of the festive period.
As a result, sales of Lidl’s Partytime range was up 21% and its panettone up 8% versus the previous year. Shoppers are also choosing British produce, as Lidl says it is over-trading in British meat, poultry and eggs, holding the largest market share in British pork.
The news come as the discount grocer unveiled its Christmas advert for 2022, part of a charity-focused Christmas campaign headed up by the Lidl Bear and asking customers to donate gifts to its charitable toy bank initiative.
