The John Lewis Partnership, which owns the Waitrose supermarket chain, has reported a significant improvement in its financial performance, cutting first-half losses by 91%.
The UK-based company posted a loss of £5 million (€5.9 million) for the six months ending July 27, compared to a £57 million (€67.3 million) loss in the same period last year. Total revenue grew by 2% to £5.2 billion (€6.14 billion).
Waitrose saw a 5% increase in sales, with a 2% rise in volume. The retailer's adjusted operating profit improved by £75 million (€88.5 million), and its gross margin rose by 1.2 percentage points, contributing to a more positive outlook for the full year.
New Chairman
Former Tesco executive Jason Tarry is set to succeed Sharon White as chairman this month.
While White steered the partnership through the COVID pandemic and then the cost of living crisis, Tarry has been tasked with driving the next phase of the group's modernisation focused on its core retail business and growth.
First-Half Loss
The partnership often makes a first half loss as most of its profit is made in the run-up to Christmas. Its department store business in particular has had a difficult few years that has seen stores close and jobs cut.
The first half performance reflected improved trading at Waitrose, where sales increased 5%, but subdued trading in the department stores division, where sales fell 3%, hurt by its exposure to more discretionary items.
"These results confirm that our transformation plan is working and we expect profits to grow significantly for the full year, a marked improvement from where we were two years ago," said chief executive Nish Kankiwala.
Additional reporting by ESM
