Co-op Group FY profits slump amid record levels of shoplifting

Supermarket chain Co-op Group posted a sharp drop in full-year profits on Thursday as a result of record levels of shoplifting and competition from discount rivals.

Co-op said it had suffered from 336,270 incidents of "retail crime" across its stores in 2023, marking a 44% increase on the previous year, and reported an annual pre-tax profit of £28.0m, down from £268.0m a year earlier.

Revenues also slumped, down £200.0m to £11.3bn on the back of the sale of its petrol forecourt operations during the second half of 2022. Excluding the impact of the petrol forecourt sale, revenues rose by 4.7%.

Total underlying group operating profit increased 17%, while net debt fell from £322.0m to £82.0m.

Chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: "Over the last two years, our net-debt has reduced by 90 per cent from over £900.0m, to £82.0mn today. Whilst markets remain challenging, we are in firmly in control of our Co-op and our destiny."

She added that 2024 marked a "significant shift" for Co-op as the group starts "putting in place the building blocks" for its strategic growth plans, with a focus on growing its existing businesses including increasing its share of the quick commerce market and expanding its presence within the life services sector.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com