Retailer John Lewis Partnership has said it will not pay a staff bonus for the third year in a row despite seeing annual profits rebound higher. The employee-owned business, which runs the department store chain and Waitrose supermarket arm, posted a 73% jump in pre-tax profits to £97 million for the year to January 25.
On an underlying basis, profits tripled to £126 million from £42 million a year ago. But the group said it would not pay out a bonus once again for its workforce of around 73,000 people, instead saying it would prioritise another £114 million in overall pay and up to £600 million of investment in the business.
It said: “After careful consideration, we have prioritised this investment over sharing a bonus this year.” Jason Tarry, who took over as chairman of the John Lewis Partnership from Dame Sharon White last September, said: “We have made good progress with much more still to do.
“Looking forward, I see significant opportunity for growth from both our Waitrose and John Lewis brands. This will involve considerable catch-up investment in our stores and supply chain.”
The group said it expects a further rise in profits in the 2025-26 financial year, despite cautioning that it expects the wider economic backdrop “to be challenging for our customers and our business”.
It is set to take a £45 million hit from the increase in national insurance contributions next month.
Mr Tarry told PA he does not expect to raise prices to offset this, instead offsetting the extra wage costs through savings and growth.
He said: « We have made good progress with much more still to do. This will involve considerable catch-up investment in our stores and supply chain. »
The annual results showed sales at John Lewis remained flat on the previous year, at £4.8 billion, while Waitrose saw sales rise 4.4% to £8 billion and underlying earnings jump £122 million to £227 million.
The group said after earnings fell at the department store in the first half, they grew by £8 million in the final six months as sales lifted 3% thanks to turnaround efforts, with underling operating profits standing at £45 million overall for the year.
Source link
