The Co-operative Group profits fell last year as high inflation, economic uncertainty and conflicts across the world continued to weigh on Britain’s retail sector.
Group pre-tax profit decreased nine-fold from £268 million to £28 million, the consumer co-operative reported on Thursday.
The member-owned group includes retail a grocery retail chain, wholesale retail, legal services, funerals and insurance.
One of the prime reasons for the lower profits was that the previous year was boosted by the £600 million sale of its petrol forecourt business to Asda, but also a 1.7% dip in revenue to £11.3 billion.
“2023 was, as we predicted, another challenging year as economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures and heart-breaking global conflict placed increasing pressure on individuals and businesses,” chair Allan Leighton commented.
Sales in Co-op’s food business slipped 6.4% to £7.3 billion, largely due to the sale of the petrol station business, while high inflation also hit volumes.
Net debt was reduced from £322 million to £82 million though, thanks to stable underlying earnings year on year, one-off payments and tight working capital expenditure, Co-op said.
“With conditions remaining volatile, a strengthened balance sheet is clearly beneficial,” the group noted.
Retail crime soared over the year meanwhile, Co-op added, with the number of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour incidents climbing 44% to 336,270.