Superdrug saw its post-tax profits rise by just over a third in 2023, its latest accounts reveal.

The high street chain’s latest Companies House filing, which was published yesterday (July 7), shows that in the 12 months to December 30 it made a post-tax profit of £83.2m, up from £60.5m the year before.

Sales rose by 11.8 per cent to £1.53bn while market share rose for the third consecutive year to 10.6 per cent, a 1.7 percentage increase from four years ago, said the company.

The company attributed its strong trading year to “strong retail performance, increased sales volume and continued own brand growth”.

The company said that 183 of its roughly 830 stores in the UK and Ireland now operate a pharmacy, and that its investment in both new stores and the refurbishment of existing stores has been a factor in its strong recent performance.

Superdrug CEO Pete Macnab said: “Our vision is to be the UK’s leading accessible health and beauty retailer with high quality, affordable products at the heart of everything we do.

“Over the last year, we’ve continued to invest into our store estate to provide customers with best-in-class shopping experiences. The strong store sales growth gives us the confidence that our strategy is working, and new stores are being welcomed by customers and the local community.”

Mr Macnab said that against a backdrop of rising inflation, the company had “invested heavily to keep our prices competitive and help families keep costs down,” for example by slashing a fifth of the price from a range of sun protection products in May 2023.