Iceland expects profits to hit 10-year high

Iceland expects to deliver its “highest” profit in over a decade due to its increased focus on value and cost-saving measures, The Times has reported. 

According to The Times, Iceland told bondholders last week that it was “confident” this year’s underlying profit will be its strongest in 10 years, exceeding the £176m made in 2021. 

The group’s sales boost in 2021 were attributed by The Times to hospitality closures during the Covid-19 lockdowns. 

Meanwhile, Iceland believes its profits will break a 10-year record thanks to its energy cost savings, strong sales growth, and other cost-cutting measures. 

This year, the group has frozen the price of hundreds of products to £1 and gave customers over the age of 60 a 10% discount on Tuesdays. Other customers were also offered interest-free loans between £25 and £100. 

An Iceland spokesperson told The Times: “We strive to do all we can to help our customers, especially when there is economic uncertainty.

“We constantly check all our prices to ensure that we offer our customers better value than the major supermarkets across our whole product range — and we are significantly cheaper for frozen food.”

However, Iceland is currently being scrutinised on suspicions of profiteering from rising food inflation, which hit a 45-year high in April at 19.1%. 

Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco dismissed claims that they were taking part in “greenflation” last week, telling MPs at the Business and Trade Committee that they were shielding customers from the full impact of rising costs.