The Co-operative Group has had a difficult start to 2013, with a drop in overall revenue and food sales.
In its interim results for the 26 weeks to July 6, 2013, the Co-operative Group posted a 1% drop in revenue to £5.8bn.
Although the Group’s losses were largely down to its banking arm, the Co-operative’s food estate also suffered a 1.1% drop in like-for-like sales during the period, while operating profits decreased from £119m in the first half of 2012 to £117m in the same period of 2013.
It attributed the drop in food sales to unseasonal weather patterns, especially during the first quarter of the year, but pledged to do better in the second half of 2013 through its ‘True North’ strategy. “In food, we anticipate a stronger second half as the benefits of our food strategy start to be realised in better stock availability, improvements to the customer offer and with the refit of more than 400 stores,” a spokesman said.
Its banking estate reported significant losses for the first half of the year, with a pre-tax loss of £709m during the period compared to a £58m loss in 2012. This loss was attributed to a £496m credit impairment and an increase in running costs of its banking arm.
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