Accounts filed at Companies House for the 53 weeks ended 31 December 2016 show Superdrug delivered a pre-tax profit of £80.4 million, an increase of 41 per cent from the pre-tax profit of £56.8 million reported for 2015.

Revenue for the period was £1,214m, an increase of 10.4 per cent from 2015 (£1,099m), driven by sales from like-for-like stores which increased by 7.8 per cent, and the benefit of 23 new stores opened in the period. This strong LFL sales growth is on top of the 6.6 per cent recorded in 2015, showing the company's continued growth momentum.

Total revenue growth was bolstered by the inclusion of a 53rd week in the Company’s financial period in 2016, which is required to maintain alignment of the Company’s period end and accounting reference date.  This will revert back to a standard 52-week financial period in 2017.

Peter Macnab, CEO of A.S. Watson Health & Beauty UK, says: "We have had a strong year and are pleased with the company's performance. We believe the service offered in our stores is key; we continue to invest into helping our colleagues offer great customer service, and we were delighted to receive a CIPD award for Best Learning and Development Initiative for our customer experience training. This award is a brilliant endorsement of all the great work our colleagues do and I would like to thank every team member for their hard work and contribution to these results.”

All the main health and beauty categories contributed to the strong sales performance in 2016, led by cosmetics which grew by 14 per cent and achieved a market share of 30 per cent for the first time, supported by the introduction of new brands and investment into innovative merchandising solutions to drive customer engagement and transactions.

Customers continued to be influenced by celebrities; for example, banana powder – a face powder championed by Kim Kardashian – became a best-selling product in 2016.

Superdrug.com continued to perform strongly, with sales increasing by over 60 per cent.  Improved website functionality and enhanced delivery solutions for customers, supported by best ever availability levels, underpinned this continued growth.

2016 saw a major store opening programme which included a new retail park format in prime locations such as Fosse Park, Leicester and Castlepoint, Bournemouth (pictured).  A refurbishment programme of the existing estate saw new cosmetics display units in over 300 stores, and similar new concepts for skincare and fragrance counters being trialled successfully. The Wellbeing store format was rolled out to a further six stores, with returns exceeding expectations.  Superdrug had 789 stores in UK and Ireland at the period end.

Macnab says: "Looking to the future our strategy remains to offer customers everyday accessible health and beauty, giving them the beauty and health services they need, and an unbeatable selection of products at great prices, in a vibrant and friendly store environment."