The Scotmid Co-op Society has reported a £1.1m trading profit for the 26 weeks ended 30 July, £1.9m down on the interim result last year.
The half-year update also showed turnover down by £4.8m to £204.2m, although by this summer there was a "robust balance sheet" with net assets of £113m.
The retail group has taken steps to minimise the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, after a series of "major challenges" affected trading during the first half of 2022.
This has led to several technological and operational changes to support the development of its two businesses. In addition, it made two substantial property investments and has been closely managing controllable costs.
In total, £15m of capital investments were made to support long-term growth.
Scotmid’s food convenience business faced the most significant headwinds relative to its strong performance over the last two years. As expected, there was less pandemic local shopping, but this was overlayed with supply chain issues, legacy covid costs, low consumer confidence and severe cost inflation.
Semichem has built back trade from the negative impact of the pandemic, however, this was dampened by a weaker than expected recovery in high street footfall due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Scotmid’s property business continued to grow rental income thanks to ongoing strategic investment and divestments. Its funerals business conducted fewer funerals, but was able to provide a wider range of services.
John Brodie, chief executive of Scotmid Co-op, said: “Our result was expected to be down compared to the 2021 interim result, which had the benefit of local food shopping during the pandemic - the main feature of these results is the cost-of-living crisis and the rising cost burden on our business.
“We have responded proactively by bearing down on controllable cost areas, maximising sales opportunities and investing for the long term, underpinned by a strong balance sheet.”
He added: “Scotmid will continue to invest for the long term and take considered action to mitigate the impact of these economic conditions - guided by our core purpose, this approach will help the society navigate through the challenging times ahead.”
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