The annual report from one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers has revealed the company has faced significant financial losses since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Accounts from Boots UK released on Companies House on Tuesday, May 18 show the health and beauty giant recorded a loss of £258million last year.
The report for accounts up to August 31, 2020 show that in the previous year, the company headquarted in Beeston had made a £167million profit.
For further comparison, the revenue for Boots UK in 2019 was more than £6.6 billion. Last year, this fell to £5.9 billion - a difference of nearly £700million.
The strategic report highlights major issues were brought on with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It states: "The Covid-19 pandemic has created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption.
"This might adversely affect the future business operations and may materially impact results of operations, cash flows and the financial position of the company."
The report listed numerous ways the pandemic had or could impact the business, while having little way of being able to predict or control the outcome.
It described the "severity and duration" of the virus particularly regarding outbreaks or additional "waves" as a top concern.
It also listed the Government and business action in response to the pandemic, such as quarantining, working from home, closing stores had all had an impact.
Further along, it noted the incremental costs of doing business during and/or after the pandemic, the potential disruption to the financial market and changes and modifications to business practices as a result of Covid-19.
There was also mentioned the impact of potential reputational harm to the brand if Boots UK failed to "appropriately respond, or is perceived to have inadequately responded to risks relating to Covid-19".
Boots UK announced earlier this year it would be cutting hundreds of jobs from its Nottingham office described as having a "devastating" impact on the community.
In its mitigation of the report, Boots UK said it is focused on addressing the impact of Covid-19 and "has made significant investments in time and resources to continue to serve its customers despite severe operational restraints".
It said it expected to continue to incur additional costs and with the supply chain disruption, outgoings in this area may also increase.
The increase of remote working has also created an "extensive reliance" on computer systems and beefing up cybersecurity.
But it stated that several adjustments had been made to in-store processes to mitigate risks in this area, but it accepted implementation of such measures could still negatively impact customer experience, sales and results.
