Co-op reveals financial impact of ‘malicious’ cyber attack

The Co-operative Group has revealed it plunged to a £75 million underlying pre-tax loss for the first half of the year, primarily due to an £80 million earnings hit from a “malicious” cyber attack in April.

This marks a significant downturn from the £3 million profit reported in the same period last year.

The retailer confirmed that the cyber incident, which led to widespread disruption including empty shelves and payment issues for shoppers, impacted sales by an estimated £206 million.

This directly contributed to the £80 million blow to earnings, a sum that also included £20 million of non-underlying one-off costs.

For the six months to July 5, the Co-op recorded a £32 million underlying operating loss, a sharp contrast to the £47 million earnings achieved a year earlier.

The group expects to face a continuing, though diminished, financial impact in the second half of its fiscal 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.

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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.”