John Lewis half-year profits almost double
Tough supermarket conditions weigh on Waitrose
THE John Lewis Partnership has seen its half-year profits surge 89 per cent as strong trading in its department stores offset tougher market conditions for grocery arm Waitrose.
The employee owned business said revenue across the group was up by 5.7 per cent from £4.2 billion to £4.46bn in the period to July 26.
Pre-tax profit rose from £68.5 million to £129.8m while before exceptional items, which included a £47.3m charge in the prior year following a review of holiday pay policies, the figure was up 12.1 per cent. The Waitrose business, which employs 1,000 people across its six stores in Scotland and has three more locations in the pipeline, said revenue increased 4.2 per cent to almost £3bn while like-forlike sales edged up by 1.3 per cent.
The supermarket sector is one of the most competitive in the UK with discounters such as Aldi and Lidl winning market share from the likes of Tesco and Morrisons. Waitrose has also grown its place in the market to around five per cent but operating profits dipped 9.4 per cent to £145.2m.
The business said that was as a result of major investment across its stores but noted there had also been a general slowing of the wider grocery market.
However, department store operator John Lewis, which has around 1,600 staff in Scotland, saw its underlying operating profit jump more than 62 per cent to £56.3m as revenue was hiked by nine per cent to £1.49bn. Online sales accounted for £552m across the six months.
Isabella Miller, head of branch at John Lewis in Glasgow, said it is currently trading around 3.5 per cent ahead on a year-on-year basis and added: “We have witnessed positive results over the past six months but there’s no doubt we’re still trading in a challenging environment.”
Aberdeen is 3.2 per cent ahead with Edinburgh up by 1.2 per cent. Chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield, who warned the partnership may have to charge higher prices in an independent Scotland but reiterated there were no plans to move any of its operations, said: “The strong profit performance in John Lewis reflects robust sales growth across all categories, especially in the higher margin Home category, and good cost control across the business.
“In Waitrose, profits were lower as a result of a much higher level of investment in new branches and accelerating the growth of the business through investment in Waitrose.com and the my Waitrose programme, as well as the challenging market conditions. However, Waitrose sales performance continued to be well ahead of the market.”
Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consultancy Conlumino, said: “If the John Lewis Par tnership were a listed company then it would be the gift that keeps on giving. However, if JLP were listed then the results would most likely be very different – for its continued success is underpinned by its capability and willingness to play the long game.”