ASDA POSTS £989M LOSS AS PRICE CUTS WEIGH ON PROFITS

Asda recorded a pre-tax loss of £989 million for 2025, nearly double the £599 million loss reported the previous year, according to the retailer's financial accounts. The UK's third largest supermarket chain has pursued an aggressive pricing strategy to restore competitiveness with shoppers. A £656 million one-off cost related to the company's IT separation from former parent Walmart contributed significantly to the wider loss. Chief executive Allan Leighton has stated that plans to make Asda between 5% and 10% cheaper than rival supermarkets would "materially reduce" profits.

The retailer experienced operational disruption following a botched IT upgrade in the previous year, which affected product availability and sales performance. Adjusted earnings fell 33% to £761 million, partly driven by investment in the Asda Price and Rollback promotional initiatives. Like-for-like sales declined 3.1% year-on-year, excluding fuel. The company also recorded impairment costs linked to its property portfolio.

Asda's management stated that the reported loss does not reflect the underlying financial strength of the business and highlighted continued cash generation. The retailer holds £1.3 billion in cash and £2.1 billion of total liquidity at year-end, with the majority of borrowings secured into the next decade. A company spokesman said this financial position provides flexibility to continue investment in long-term growth strategy and deliver a disciplined turnaround.