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Aldi UK profits jump nearly 66 per cent
Group turnover at budget supermarket Aldi rocketed more than 35 per cent in the UK and Ireland during 2013, while pre-tax profits soared by nearly two-thirds, it said today.
Sales at the discount grocer rose to £5.27bn for the year to December 31, 2013, up from £3.89bn the preceding year. Pre-tax profits, meanwhile, jumped more than £100m to £260.9m.
Group operating profit was £271.4m.
The German supermarket said its average basket size had risen to 17 items per person – second only to Asda, where customers buy on average 18.8 items per shop.
Group Managing Director of Aldi UK, Roman Heini said: “[Customers] had become used to thinking you have to pay more for better products. We’ve shown them this doesn’t have to be the case.
“We work efficiently and responsibly to reduce operational costs. Rather than use these savings to boost margins, we lower prices at the checkout.”
In August it emerged more than half of Brits shop at either Aldi or its rival Lidl, according to Kantar Worldpanel. The companies' success is just one of many headaches for market leader Tesco, which has had its share eroded by the budget competitors.