Lidl sees pre-tax profits quadruple to £41.1m

Budget supermarket chain Lidl has revealed its pre-tax profits quadrupled to £41.1m, up from £9.8m, during the year ending February 2022.

Lidl also reported revenues of £7.8bn up from £7.7bn for FY20/21, a rise of 1.5%. This was also a 13% increase on its pre-pandemic revenue which was £6.9bn.

The company said it believes that these increases are fueled by consumers switching to them instead of the four traditional supermarkets as a way to save money in the current climate.

According to Lidl, consumers have switched £58m to them from the traditional four supermarkets. Nearly 60% of customers are choosing to shop at Lidl for its discounts.

Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB CEO, said: “As the cost-of-living crisis deepens, we are more focused than ever on supporting our colleagues, our customers and the communities we serve. This year alone we have invested £50m raising hourly pay rates making us the highest paying retailer, we’ve donated 5m meals, and we’re serving over 770,000 more customers a week compared to last year.

“As a discount supermarket we are in the best possible position to support people through these challenging times, and it’s our absolute priority that we continue to do so.”

McDonnell added: “Our business model is built for the long term and I’m incredibly proud of our continued growth in recent months, which builds on our strong performance across 2021.

“During this time, we’ve made further investments across all areas of our business, building even more stores and distribution centres, hiring more colleagues, increasing pay rates, investing in our British supplier base and contributing to the communities we operate in.”