Nisa has announced underlying profits of £0.6m in its annual results following a £5.4m loss in 2015, although sales dropped by 1.9% to £1.3bn.

The group’s full year results for the 53 weeks ending April 3 2016 marked a turnaround for the group, with highlights including a 6% rise in fresh sales to £210m and a 7.9% rise in sales of the Heritage own label brand to £119m.

Like for like sales were 2.3% higher when adjusted for the loss of Costcutter.

Nick Read, CEO of Nisa Retail Limited, said: “It has been a challenging, but ultimately pleasing year for Nisa. The business experienced the biggest swing in profit in its 39-year history as we sought to stabilise the company, address historical issues and lay the foundations to return to profitable growth and build for it a sustainable business model.

“Nisa is now very much back on an upward curve, with the business having already seen a 3.5% increase in weekly sales in the first 12 weeks of FY17, and we are extremely positive about our future.”

Nisa also saw 476 new stores join the group in the 53-week period, while distribution and overhead costs were reduced 3.2% and 12.3% respectively.