Retailer Iceland has announced record results for the year to end-March 2012 with net pre-tax profits up 18.5 per cent.
This figure, which excludes exceptional items, rose to £184.3 million. Like-for-like sales increased by six per cent. The chain has also opened 18 new stores and completed a £1.55 billion management buyout.
Chairman and chief executive Malcolm Walker said: “It is fantastic to be able to report the seventh consecutive set of record results since I returned to the business in 2005. I am particularly pleased that we have achieved this exceptional performance not by chasing short-term profit targets, but by resolutely doing the right things for our staff and customers for the longer term.”
He also had a dig at price cuts by the major retailers and underlined what a challenging market the UK is. “We delivered strong like-for-like sales growth in a highly competitive marketplace increasingly dominated by short-term promotional activity by the major multiples,” said Walker. “We achieved this by consistently offering our customers great everyday value in frozen foods and for their daily purchases of grocery and chilled foods, underlined by our round-sum pricing policy.”
Looking ahead, Iceland said its strategic priorities are unchanged. “The key landmarks will not be short-term performance,” said Walker, “but satisfying our customers by continuing to offer great value, maintaining the quality of our products and keeping up the pace of innovation and providing great service by well-rewarded and highly motivated colleagues. We will also make our products available to more customers through continued expansion of our store network in the UK and by exploring opportunities for further development of our offer overseas, with the support of our new investors.”
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