Waitrose annual profits and sales increased as the upmarket retailer said it delivered eight consecutive quarters of growth in customer numbers, however volumes were down across the year.
The grocer saw trading operating profit up £170m to £1.064bn in the 52 weeks to 27 January 2024, while sales were up 5% to £7.7bn.
Waitrose said this strong sales performance came as a result of a record number of customers having shopped with it over the period – with customer numbers up 8.1% to 15m.
However, sales volumes fell 1.5% over the year with inflationary prices rises – up 6.6% on average – driving value growth.
The supermarket said slower volumes in the first half and only passing on half of the market rate of inflation to its customers led to its grocery market share declining over the year.
However, it returned to volume growth in four months of the second half and it grew market share.
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The grocer’s parent company the John Lewis Partnership also reported growth as it returned to profit.
The retail giant, which also owns the John Lewis department store, posted a pre-tax profit of £42m in the financial year – compared to a £78m loss in 2022/23.
However, the Partnership said it would not pay staff a bonus this year as it looks to prioritise base pay.
It said: “After careful consideration, we believe that investing in Partner pay and improving our business must continue to take priority over paying a bonus. Consequently, there will be no Partnership Bonus paid this year.”
The Partnership is instead increasing overall pay by £116m this year, which is claims is a record investment for the business.
Looking ahead, the company is entering a year of “significant” investment with £542m to be used to modernise its technology and refresh its stores.
Across Waitrose specifically, it plans to open new stores in areas where the brand is underserved and plans to refurbish 80 existing stores over the next three years.
John Lewis Partnership chairman Sharon White: “We have made significant progress in the last year to return the business to profitability and delivered results that allow us to increase investment in our retail businesses; we expect profits to grow further this year.
“This shows our plan is working, while we know there’s much more to do. Our improved performance has been supported by our customers’ love for both brands, with more people choosing to shop with us than ever before, and our partners’ commitment to delivering excellent customer service.”
