John Lewis boss Jason Tarry remains optimistic about the retailer's performance over the full year, despite reporting an operating loss of £87million up to July 26, an increase from £29million in the first half of 2024.
The figures come despite a 6% increase in sales to £6.2billion in the six months to July 26.
Jason Tarry, Chairman of the John Lewis plc, which also owns supermarket Waitrose, said: "Our clear focus on accelerating investment in our customers and our brands is working: more customers are shopping with us, driving sales, and helping Waitrose and John Lewis outperform their markets. We achieved our highest recorded levels of positive customer satisfaction, a testament to the great service of our Partners.
"The investments we are making, combined with our plans for peak trading, provide a strong foundation for the remainder of the year. While we are reporting a loss in the first half, we're well positioned to deliver full year profit growth, which we'll continue to invest in our customers and Partners."
The company's unaudited results, posted this morning, state: "The first half results show positive momentum across John Lewis plc as a direct result of our customer-focused investments.
"Our strategy is to invest in our customer experience to drive long-term, sustainable growth. In the first half, we adopted a deliberate strategy to accelerate investment in store upgrades, digital services and essential modernisations to our technology and supply chain.
"These investments are showing good progress, delivering growth in sales, volumes, customer numbers and market share in the first half. Group sales were £6.2billion, an increase of 4% year-on-year, while total revenue grew 5% to £5.4billion. We achieved our highest recorded level of positive customer satisfaction in the half, attracted more customers, with customer numbers up 4%, and saw pleasing growth in our loyalty schemes, My Waitrose (up 6%) and My John Lewis (up 13%)."
Looking ahead to the next six months, the report added: "We have stepped up investment in our customers and our brands this year, ahead of the all important second half where we deliver the majority of our sales and profit. Our investments have helped build momentum over the first half, delivering growth in sales, customer numbers, loyalty and satisfaction. We have also increased both our cash generation and productivity savings, which will drive ongoing investment in our brands.
"While we expect the macroeconomic environment to remain challenging, our momentum, coupled with exciting plans for the second half, sees us well positioned to deliver full year profit growth."
FTSE 100
The UK's flagship share index, the FTSE 100, was up 5 points at 9,270 shortly after opening this morning.
Brent crude oil futures were down 0.21% at $67.37 a barrel.
Companies reporting today
- Energean - Half Year Results
- Playtech - Half Year Results
- Trainline - Half Year Trading Statement