UK's John Lewis restores staff bonus but flags caution on trading outlook
By James Davey
LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - British retailer the John Lewis Partnership reported a 6% rise in annual profit and restored its staff bonus after a four-year hiatus but said it was cautious on the trading outlook given a tough economic backdrop.
The UK's largest employee-owned business, which runs John Lewis department stores and the upmarket Waitrose supermarket chain, said on Thursday it would pay its workers, or partners as it calls them, a bonus of 2% of salary.
"We remain cautious in our outlook for trading in 2026/27. Despite this, we are well positioned to navigate the challenging macroeconomic environment, with improved liquidity and low levels of external borrowings," the partnership said.
It said it was confident of making "further steps forward" in 2026/27.
PESSIMISTIC UK CONSUMERS
British consumer spending grew slowly in February as households got more pessimistic about the outlook for the economy with the Middle East conflict raising concerns about a fresh rise in inflation, surveys showed on Tuesday.
On Monday, analysts at RBC cut their profit forecasts for John Lewis rival Marks & Spencer MKS.L, saying the spike in oil and gas prices will likely drive up British households' food, transport and energy bills.
The partnership made a profit before tax, bonus and exceptional items of 134 million pounds ($179 million) in the year to January 31 2026, on sales up 5% to 13.4 billion pounds.
Waitrose sales increased 7%, while department store sales were up 3%.
Jason Tarry, the former Tesco executive who has chaired the partnership since 2024, is leading a revival after the department store division in particular had a difficult period, first battling the COVID-19 pandemic and then the cost-of-living crisis.
He has accelerated investment, with a focus on modernising John Lewis and Waitrose stores, enhancing digital platforms and improving the supply chain.
($1 = 0.7473 pounds)
