SUPERMARKET chain Lidl saw its profit in Northern Ireland cut by one-third last year due to rising costs.
The German retailer reported a £6.2 million fall in profit before tax to £11m for the year ending February 28 2023.
Despite the 36 per cent drop, it was still one of Lidl’s most profitable ever years in Northern Ireland.
The retailer, which now has 41 stores in the north, increased its workforce by 10 per cent to 1,276 by the end of February 2023.
The latest accounts for Lidl NI published on Companies House show its sales income rose by £65m (17.5 per cent) year-on-year to £434 million as its share of the grocery market grew to 7.5 per cent and food price inflation surged to around 18 per cent during the reporting period.
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The German discounter’s cost of sales increased by £60m (21.5 per cent) in the year ending February 28 2023, with administrative costs also rising by £13.3m (17 per cent).
The same report shows Lidl Northern Ireland paid £1.27m in corporation tax for the year, which was substantially less than the £5.4m bill it faced in the previous year.
It left the retailer’s bottom line income for the year in Northern Ireland at £9.7m, around £2m less than its 2021/22 trading year.
Lidl NI’s wage bill increased by £2.6m (10.6 per cent) last year, broadly in line with the increase in headcount during the period.
Total staff costs came in at £30.1m, which again was 10 per cent up year-on year.
According to the accounts, Lidl Northern Ireland’s seven directors received £801,448 during the year to February 28 2023.
Subsequent to the reporting period, Lidl saw a change in leadership in the north, with Ivan Ryan appointed managing director in the north at the start of August.
He replaced Conor Boyle, who departed for a senior post in Lidl’s Finnish operation.
The overall Lidl operation on the island of Ireland is headed by John Paul Scally.
The accounts come one week after Lidl released its annual supplier impact report, which showed it spent a record £455m with around 60 suppliers in Northern Ireland in the past year.
That was £108m or 31 per cent more than 2021/22.
Lidl said around £390m of those products ended up being distributed through its store network across the island of Ireland, Britain and across Europe.
