Despite suffering a £60 million loss due to growing labor costs, the corporation stated that it was expecting some respite for struggling consumers.
It met the forecast and reported pre-tax profits that increased by 5% to £918 million in the year ending at the end of January.
£258 million in regular dividend payments and a £288 million share buyback were suggested.
The Reuters news agency was informed by Chief Executive Lord Simon Wolfson that “we’re not negative about the consumer outlook, it’s a first for us for some time.”
“That doesn’t mean we think the consumer environment’s going to be hugely ebullient, we just don’t think that the consumer’s facing the same headwinds they were facing at this time last year.”
The organization stated that it did not currently foresee any significant negative effects from stock delays brought on by a stoppage in shipments across the Suez Canal.
It claimed that despite shipments having up to ten-day delays, they were being efficiently handled.
