Return to growth for George boosts Asda results

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 29, 2022

Asda’s profits have jumped in its first year of private ownership, partly helped by it getting a boost from its fashion ops as the George label was back in growth mode.

It was also aided by easier comparisons as one-off costs linked to the pandemic were less of an issue this time.

2021 operating profit rose 42% year on year to £693.1 million and it saw “a reduction in Covid-related costs”. 

Total sales in the the 12-month period edged up 0.5% year-on-year to £20.4 billion

But importantly, the firm saw a “strong performance” in home and outdoor categories as well as that aforementioned return to growth in the George fashion business after it had seen tough times in 2020. 

That helped it deal with issues such as grocery like-for-like sales dipping 0.5% and online sales dropping 5% — both of these falls a consequence of a move to more normal trading as the pandemic eased. That could be seen from the fact that food like-for-likes were up 4.6% on a two-year basis and online sales were 75% higher than in 2019.

Co-owner Mohsin Issa said: “When we bought Asda we were clear that we wanted to grow this great business and our ambition is for Asda to regain its position as the UK’s second-largest grocery retailer. We are pleased with the progress made in the six months since we officially took over the business and are confident we can achieve this long-term ambition by providing customers with exceptional value wherever and however they choose to shop with us.”