Waitrose has delivered half-year profit increase, which it said was driven by customer growth and record availability.
The upmarket grocer said for the 26 weeks ending 27 July, its adjusted operating profit increased by £75m while its gross margin rose by 1.2 percentage points.
Sales edged up 5%, with volume up 2% and average item price up by just over 2%.
Waitrose said this performance was boosted by its tenth consecutive quarter of customer growth, with 300,000 more shoppers, and a record availability of 96.5%.
John Lewis Partnership chief executive officer Nish Kankiwala said its robust half-year results “confirm” that its transformation plan is working.
He added: “We expect profits to grow significantly for the full year, a marked improvement from where we were two years ago.
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“We continue to invest heavily in quality, service and value, and customers are responding well – with more people shopping with us and customer satisfaction increasing.
“While we have much more to do, we’re well set up for a positive peak trading period and on target to significantly improve our performance for the full year.”
Waitrose’s strong half year comes amid a series of initiative this year, including its collaboration with restaurant brand Ottolenghi, in-store Gail’s café, a revamp of its No.1 premium range and a partnership with nutrient brand Zoe.
Last month, the supermarket embarked on the next phase of its store modernisation programme with the refurbishment of its Finchley Road store, and the announcement of another eight branches set to be refurbished in the second half of 2024.
