The Co-op has seen a £44m jump in profits as its £101m saving efforts in 2022 paid off.
While underlying EBITDA also shot up by £27m, the Co-op’s sales dipped by £0.2bn.
The supermarket blamed the decline on lower revenue in the food retail business, resulting from the impact of the petrol forecourt sale.
However, the retailer saw net debt of just £123m, compared to £608m during the same time last year.
The Co-op’s net cash from operating activities also rose by £35m, which it attributed to its focus on growing its most profitable channels.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
The supermarket claimed it experienced “enhanced financial strength” despite external economic headwinds costing the company £117m during the period.
It also saw a 55% rise in new members for the 26 weeks to 1 July 2023, exceeding the Co-op’s expected progress for the period.
The Co-op also noted it had provided its colleagues and members with £29m of additional financial support during the first half, to help with the cost of living challenges beyond pay awards.
Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “I am very proud of our success over the last six months, particularly given the prevailing economic and market conditions. This performance wouldn’t have been possible had we not taken the decisions we did, as early as we did in 2022, when it came to better management of our members’ money and running the business more efficiently.
“The business momentum established in the second half of the last financial year has carried through into the first six months of 2023 and has allowed us to significantly strengthen our membership offer and proposition – we have put our member-owners at the heart of what we do. We have listened to what they need, and we have not hesitated in our response.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
