The Co-op Group says its profits plunged as it battled with issues from food inflation to poor weather and high levels of shoplifting.
The Manchester-based retail-to-funerals group said it had needed to invest millions in lowering prices thanks to competition in the supermarket sector amid the cost-of-living crisis.
The Co-op said its pre-tax profit fell by £240m to £28m in 2023, compared with 2022. It said the 2022 profit figure was skewed by a boost from the sale of its petrol forecourts business to Asda. The supermarket giant reached a £600m deal to hand over its 132 petrol stations during the second half of the year.
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Co-op group net debt was trimmed to £82m, from £322m in 2022. Revenues dipped to £11.3bn in 2023, from £11.5bn the previous year.
Food retail sales dipped to £7.3bn from £7.8bn the prior year, which the Co-op also attributed to the impact of selling its petrol stations.
Grocery inflation was in double digits for much of the year. The 海角视频 also saw much rainier weather during the year, which the Co-op said hit visits to its convenience stores.
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Co-op also invested £90m across the year to lower its food prices as it competes with rival retailers.
The group also said it recorded its highest ever levels of retail crime in its food shops in 2023, with 336,270 incidents of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That was 44% higher than the number of incidents recorded the previous year.
Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “Our relentless focus on strengthening our financial position has enabled us to navigate a highly turbulent external landscape, delivering increased value for our member-owners and planning for a future with confidence and with membership firmly back at the heart of our business.
“Over the last two years, our net debt has reduced by 90% from over £900m to £82m today.
“Whilst markets remain challenging, we are firmly in control of our Co-op and our destiny.”
The group said earlier this year that it was targeting new convenience shops and planning to rapidly grow its membership programme as part of a new growth strategy.