John Lewis Partnership is set to break its profits target even though its cost cutting programme is behind schedule.
In an internal memo, reported by by The Mail on Sunday, the company says profits had been lifted by Christmas sales at Waitrose and was a ‘fantastic achievement given the complexity of trading through this year’.
Berangere Michel, JLP finance director told staff the company was ‘well ahead’ of its £100m profit target by the end of December, with still a month of its financial year left.
The memo also revealed efforts to cut costs are progressing slower than planned. It saved £153m, £31m less than its original target.
But the group continues to seek ‘in excess of £300m savings by the end of the next financial year’, she added.
