John Lewis Partnership Reports a 45.4% Decline in Profits

John Lewis Partnership has reported a 45.4% decline in annual profits to £160m compared with £292.8m in the previous year.

The unaudited accounts show a 1% rise in gross sales to £11,724.1m for the year ended 26th January 2019.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, Partner and Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, commented: “In line with expectations set out in June, our Partnership profits before exceptionals have finished substantially lower in what has been a challenging year, particularly in non-food. Operating profit recovered strongly in Waitrose & Partners, up 18% (to £203.2m), mainly due to improved gross margins. However, it was down sharply, by 56% (to £114.7m), in John Lewis & Partners because of weaker Home sales, gross margin pressure, higher IT costs, the property impact of new shops and lower profit on asset sales. Despite this, we managed cash tightly and reduced total net debts by £401.3m.

This is part of our strategy to build up our cash reserves as a defence against uncertainty in the economy and to enable us to maintain annual investment at £400m-£500m per year. We have also made significant investment in our Partners during the year, particularly in leadership development, apprenticeships and pay, with our average hourly rate for non-management Partners rising to £9.16, 17.0% above the National Living Wage. We expect that average hourly rate of pay to increase by around 4.5% following our April 2019 pay review.

While Partnership profits were down, there were several areas where we have seen performance move forward, particularly in areas where we have invested. In John Lewis & Partners the launch of our own-brand Womenswear and expansion of personal styling offer has driven strong sales growth in Fashion, growing market share significantly. In addition, the investment in front line service delivered best ever customer experience ratings in John Lewis & Partners. In Waitrose & Partners, significant investment in Waitrose.com, new customer smartphone apps and customer delivery services has led to a strong increase in online grocery sales of 14%, well ahead of the market, and increased online customer satisfaction.

The Board has awarded a Bonus at 3%. This enables us to continue debt reduction, maintain our level of investment and retains solid cash reserves to cope with the continuing uncertainty facing consumers and the economy. We expect 2019 trading conditions to remain challenging but are confident in our strategic direction and customer offer across both brands.”

View the full report in the Articles section of Insight DIY

Source : Insight DIY Team and John Lewis Partnership

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