Lidl has revealed a three-fold surge in profits as more shoppers switched from its supermarket rivals amid the rising cost of living.
It came as bosses at the German discount chain said they plan to keep opening more stores as it pushes ahead with ambitious expansion plans across the UK.
On Wednesday, Lidl GB revealed that sales jumped by 7.9% to £11.7 billion for the year to February 28, compared with a year earlier.
It said the increase in sales and significant store investment helped pre-tax profits more than triple to £156.8 million from £43.6 million a year earlier.
The company was the UK’s fastest growing supermarket chain over the year as it benefited from stronger customer demand and new shops.
It is currently the UK’s sixth-largest grocery chain, according to experts at Worldpanel, after taking a record share of the sector in recent months.
Lidl is expected to overtake rival Morrisons, which is currently in fifth place, in the coming months if its current momentum continues.
The retailer said it was buoyed by 38 million more visits from customers over the year, as many shoppers switched from supermarket rivals.
Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB chief executive, told the PA news agency that it saw shoppers move to Lidl from a range of its competitors.
“Our gains from customers switching supermarkets are balanced across all our competitors,” he said.
“We have been focused on delivering low prices and high quality, and that has been really well received by shoppers.”
Lidl has also welcomed more shoppers on the back of opening new stores, with the retailer expecting to have opened around 40 shops by the end of this year.
It said it is on track to surpass 1,000 stores as a result and hopes to keep opening new locations at a similar pace.
Mr McDonnell told PA: “The run rate of around 40 a year is what we have also done in some previous years.
“I’m confident that we can keep opening stores at somewhere around that level again because there are hundreds of opportunities for us to open shops across the country.”
