German discounter Aldi saw operating profits increase by more than a quarter (+26%) for its 2017 financial year to hit £266m (€300m), as profit margins in the business expanded from 2.4% in 2016 to a healthy 2.6% last year.

Five times faster

Aldi said sales at its UK and Ireland stores grew five times faster than the overall grocery market, with sales increasing more than 16% throughout 2017 to reach £10.2bn (€11.5bn). This is the first time Aldi’s sales have broken the £10bn mark since it entered the UK and Irish markets.

The German supermarket is now ranked as the fifth largest in the UK, having eked out a 7.6% share of the £185bn UK grocery market.

In Ireland, Aldi is the also the fifth-largest supermarket, with an 11.6% share of the market.

During 2017, Aldi said it attracted almost 16m customers, which is a 1.1m increase on the previous year.

“While other grocers introduced more complexity into their businesses, we stuck to our guns and focused on doing what Aldi does best – buying smart, staying lean, improving quality and keeping prices low,” said chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland Giles Hurley.