John Lewis losses have narrowed as it remains on track to deliver higher full-year profits

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John Lewis Partnership has reported growth in sales and reduced losses in the first half of the year as it remains on track to deliver “significantly higher profits” in 2024.

For the 26 weeks ending July 27, 2024, John Lewis reported a loss before tax of £30m, a 49% reduction from the £59m reported at the same time last year.

Loss before exceptional items has improved from £57m this time last year to £5m.

The retailer said it was on track to deliver ”significantly higher profit” for the full year compared with £42m in 2023, with Partnership sales up 2% year on year to £5.9bn. Total sales increased by 2% to £5.2bn.

During the period, Waitrose sales grew by 5% with an adjusted operating profit growth of £75m.

John Lewis sales were down by 3% “amid a slower external environment for general merchandise” and adjusted operating profit was down by £24m year on year.

JLP said it expects “further profit growth in the second half, when we typically generate a significantly higher proportion of our profit”.

Looking ahead, the retailer said: ”We have historically delivered the majority of our profits in the second half of the year. Despite the environment for our customers remaining uncertain, we expect to maintain financial momentum from consistent delivery of our multi-year transformation.

“As a result, we are confident that full year pre-exceptional profits should be significantly above the £42m we reported in 2023/24.”

Nish Kankiwala, chief executive at John Lewis Partnership, said: “I want to thank all our partners for their hard work during the half and thank our customers for supporting our loved brands.

“These results confirm that our transformation plan is working and we expect profits to grow significantly for the full year, a marked improvement from where we were two years ago.

“We continue to invest heavily in quality, service and value, and customers are responding well – with more people shopping with us and customer satisfaction increasing.

“While we have much more to do, we’re well set up for a positive peak trading period and on target to significantly improve our performance for the full year.”