Co-operative reveals £80m earnings hit from ‘malicious’ cyber attack

The Co-operative Group has revealed it slumped to a half-year loss after taking an earnings hit of around £80 million from a “malicious” cyber attack in April.

The retailer said it tumbled to a £75 million underlying pre-tax loss for the six months to July 5, down from profits of £3 million a year ago as the hack took its toll.

It said the attack impacted sales by about £206 million, which left it with an £80 million blow to earnings, although this also included £20 million of non-underlying one-off costs.

Shoppers were faced with empty shelves and issues with payments during the fallout from the cyber incident in April, as a raft of retailers were hit.

Co-op said it fell to a £32 million underlying operating loss, from earnings of £47 million a year earlier.

The group added it expects a further, but reduced, impact in the second half of its financial year.

Debbie White, chairwoman of the Co-op, said: “The first half of 2025 brought significant challenges, most notably from a malicious cyber attack.

“Our balance sheet strength and the magnificent response of our 53,000 colleagues enabled us to maintain vital services for our members and their communities.”

The Co-op said the hacking attempt was “sophisticated” but that it acted “quickly and decisively to temporarily shut down a number of systems to contain the threat”.

The group shut off parts of its IT systems after the attack, in which hackers accessed and extracted members’ personal data.

It confirmed in July that all 6.5 million members of the Co-op had their data stolen in the incident.

The group said previously that the hackers created a copy of one of the firm’s files but were unable to attack its platforms further and install planned ransomware.

It said efforts following the incident included moves to keep essential services running, such as its funerals business, while prioritising stock to rural “lifeline” stores.

It also said it supported independent co-op societies and franchise partners to minimise disruption to them, while it offered its members a £10 discount off a £40 shop as a thank you for their support throughout the disruption.

Chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “The cyber attack highlighted many of our strengths.

“But more importantly, it also highlighted areas we need to focus on – particularly in our food business.

“We’ve already started on this journey, refining our member and customer proposition, making structural changes to our business, and setting our Co-op up for long-term success.”