Asda has reported a big drop in profits for 2022, but its owner has described it as a 'highly resilient' performance.

Profits at the supermarket chain, which has stores in Gloucester and Cheltenham, fell by 24% for the year, as reported by Retail Gazette.

Owner Mohsin Issa said the company's EBITDA plunged to £886m over the year due to a "conscious decision to support customers by investing heavily to mitigate the impact of inflation and keep prices as low as possible".

Total sales were up by 0.1% in 2022, with like-for-like sales hitting 5.4% in the final quarter, when Asda emerged as the best-performing traditional grocer over the Christmas period.

The retailer said momentum has continued into the new year, with like-for-likes up 6.8% in February. Issa said it was "laying the foundations to restore Asda to the number two position in UK grocery".

Asda's focus for the year was giving customers desirable products at affordable prices, as it invested to shield customers from the worst of inflationary pressures.

It cut the prices of more than 100 popular own brand and branded products by an average of 12% to help customers keep more control of their grocery budgets.

It also launched its Just Essentials range in May last year - a range of 300 value products for those on the tightest budgets. Since then, over 10 million shoppers have regularly bought the range.

Asda is also investing £28m to increase rates of pay for 13,000 distribution staff by at least 8%.