Britain's The Co-operative has posted a 7.6% increase in total revenue in the first half of its financial year, boosted by what it said was an 'exceptional performance' by its Food and Wholesale division.
Revenue in the group's Food division rose 5.2% to £3.9 billion (€4.29 billion) in the period to 4 July, with like-for-like sales up 8.8%, giving the retailer a market share increase of 0.5% percentage points.
In the second quarter alone, like-for-like sales were up 9.9% in its Food division, the group added.
Wholesale Growth
Its Nisa wholesale business, meanwhile, saw revenues up 13.9% to £801 million (€880.2 million), with the business benefitting from the rise in local shopping during lockdown, as well as improvements under Co-op ownership.
The Co-operative sad that underlying operating profit stood at £121 million for the period, driven by a strong performance from Food, which posted underlying operating profit of £175 million.
Strong Response
“We are living in unprecedented times, but the response of our Co-op has been exceptional and I’m immensely proud of my 60,000 colleagues who’ve helped to feed and care for the nation during this difficult period," commented Steve Murrells, Co-op chief executive.
"We’ve shown how our co-operative approach to doing business provides enhanced value for our customer-members and the communities in which they live. At a time of crisis, our country needs a strong and progressive Co-op and these results evidence that we are ready to deliver even more for our key stakeholders."
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
