Holland & Barrett: Huge losses continue despite sales surge

Holland & Barrett has suffered another year of losses despite its sales continuing to climb.

The Nuneaton-headquartered health foods store chain has reported a pre-tax loss of £61.8m for the 12 months to the end of September 2024.

The latest total comes after the retailer also lost £65.3m in the prior 12 months and £59.6m in the year before that.

The last time the business reported a pre-tax profit was the £42.1m it achieved in the year to September 2021.

However Holland & Barrett, which is owned by investment business LetterOne, revealed its revenue surged from £806.1m to £884.5m during its latest financial year.

The business said it spend £96.3m on capital investment in the year and opened 36 stores as well as renovating more than 320 others.

The figures have been released by Holland & Barrett itself. Its full accounts are due to be filed with Companies House by the end of June.

Holland & Barrett said its sales and gross profit are both up eight per cent year-on-year in the first half of its current financial period.

‘Landmark year’ for Holland & Barrett

Alex Gourlay, executive chair of Holland & Barrett, said: “This has been a landmark year for our business – one defined by purpose, transformation and a significant investment in the future of this 150-year-old business.

“With societal shifts towards prevention, testing and self-care, and insufficient public health care provision due to constraints on national health systems, there is an increasing unmet need which Holland & Barrett was well positioned to serve.

“It is with great pride, that we have taken the bold steps necessary to meet the evolving needs of our customers, accelerating our transformation journey and laying a strong foundation for long-term growth.”

Gourlay added: “Our retail performance continues to outperform the UK and Netherlands high streets and compares strongly against other European countries.

“We are energised by the momentum we’ve built and excited for the opportunities ahead. I could not be happier with the ongoing performance of the business or prouder of our colleagues who have been at the heart of delivering this strong growth.”