Waitrose has reported a 17% rise in trading operating profit year on year to £504.4m, despite a two-year delay to John Lewis chair Dame Sharon White’s turnaround plan.
In its half-year results, the upmarket retailer saw sales jump 4% to £3.7bn, with growth driven by the average item price up 9%.
At Waitrose parent company, the John Lewis Partnership, losses before tax and exceptional items came to £57.3m, however this was a 14% improvement on last year.
Although losses at the Partnership narrowed, White’s turnaround plan has been delayed by two years as a result of “inflationary pressures”.
Despite this, Waitrose has continued to see positive growth, with customer numbers having increased by 6% to 14.2m, despite the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
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The grocer’s ‘New Lower Prices’ campaign drove product sales growth of 12% and volumes up 13% year on year.
Its new £5 lunchtime meal deal that launched in August has also “started strongly”, as Waitrose has seen ‘food to go’ sales rocket 34%.
Availability closed the half at 96.1%, an increase from 93.6% last year, despite an IT incident earlier this month canceling scheduled orders and slashing profit in the half at Waitrose by £11.6m.
Speaking of the Partnership, White said: “The Partnership is a unique model that has been tested and come through stronger many times in our 100 year history.
“While change is never easy – and there is a long road ahead – there are reasons for optimism. Performance is improving. More customers are shopping with us. Trust in the brands and support for the Partnership model remain high.”
