Employees at the John Lewis Partnership are to share a record £155m bonus this year on the back of a leap in profits at the department stores to Waitrose supermarket group.
Some 68,000 employees - or "partners" as the employee-owned group likes to call them - will share in the record bonus.
The payment is equivalent to 18% of their salaries, or over nine weeks' pay and will be received by everyone working within the group, from the postroom to the shop floor and the boardroom.
Profits at the partnership jumped 27% to £319m pre-tax in the 12 months to January 27, on sales 11% ahead at £6.4bn.
Chairman Sir Stuart Hampson said the John Lewis department stores side had "a simply stunning year" and there was also a good performance from the Waitrose supermarkets chain.
The current year has got off to an encouraging start, Sir Stuart said, and the group will be pressing ahead with an ambitious expansion programme aimed at doubling the size of the business in the next 10 years. Its 26-store chain will be boosted by nine openings between 2008 and 2013, including new stores in Leicester, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Northern Ireland, Stratford in London, Leeds, Crawley and Preston.
Sir Stuart said the group has been "widely recognised as the retail pace-setter" over the last year and, although he is taking a cautious view of prospects for the current year, he remains confident of continued growth.
Trading conditions for 2007 will be "more challenging", he said. There are signs of a "more hesitant" consumer market, with people instead paying off debts and putting more into savings. The Partnership's strong performance over the past couple of years will also bring it up against stronger comparatives.
The department stores business saw profits surge by 38%, to £264m, on sales 11% ahead at £2.7bn.
The electrical and home technology department was the star performer, where sales increased by 25% on the back of strong demand for flat-screen televisions and audio equipment such as iPods. There were also "excellent" performances in the homewares and clothing divisions.
At Waitrose, profits were up by 5% to £244m, on sales 11% ahead at £3.7bn. It outperformed the rest of the supermarket industry with like-for-like growth of over 5% and gained market share.
Sir Stuart once again dismissed any suggestions that John Lewis might float on the stock market, saying it was the "unique corporate structure" of the business that gives it a competitive advantage on the high street.
"Customers do notice the difference in the level of service they receive from an owner of the business," he said, stressing the "excitement" that democratic ownership creates within the business: "We have the full engagement of all 68,000 of our partners."
Going public is something that is never "even remotely contemplated," Sir Stuart said. "Our structure gives us the ability to take long term decisions, which gives the group a real trading advantage."
