Lidl’s Polish division has recorded its best financial year since entering the market, with revenues reaching 43.4 billion PLN, approaching a significant profit milestone.
The competitive discount market in Poland remains fierce, but Lidl’s latest financial data for the fiscal year running from March 2025 to February 2026 indicates strong performance. According to reports, the last twelve months brought historical records for both revenue and profits.
Over 43 Billion PLN in Revenue and a Thousand Stores
During the past fiscal year, Lidl’s sales in Poland amounted to 43.46 billion PLN, marking a 5.1% year-on-year increase. The majority of this figure stems from retail activities, although revenues from services nearly doubled to 107 million PLN.
The company’s results are closely linked to its physical store expansion. In late July 2026, Lidl opened its thousandth store in Poland, reaching this milestone just over two years after opening its 900th store in June 2024.
Simultaneously, the chain is strengthening its position in e-commerce, offering industrial goods for nearly a decade. In September 2026, Lidl’s online platform attracted 10.36 million users, representing over 35% of all Polish internet users.
Cost Control and Rising Wages Amid Energy Savings
Lidl Poland’s operating costs grew at the same rate as its revenues, increasing by 5.1% to 41.31 billion PLN. The largest expense category was the cost of goods sold, which rose by 4.5% to 32.96 billion PLN.
- Wages increased from 1.89 billion PLN to 2.21 billion PLN (+16.9% year-on-year).
- Social insurance and employee benefits rose from 432 million PLN to 517 million PLN.
- Employment: the average number of staff grew by nearly 1,400, reaching 26,129 employees (23,697 of whom are blue-collar workers and 2,432 are white-collar).
- Outside services (including marketing) increased from 2.81 billion PLN to 3 billion PLN.
Significantly contributing to profitability improvements, the company managed to optimize expenses in several key areas. Material and energy consumption costs fell from 833 million PLN to 787 million PLN, other operating costs decreased from 281 million PLN to 185 million PLN, and financial costs were halved from 46.1 million PLN to 22.7 million PLN. Financial debt also significantly decreased by a third to 249 million PLN.
According to the report, the gross profit from sales rose to 2.14 billion PLN, a 4.9% increase. Operating profit grew by 12.6% to 2.24 billion PLN, while net profit increased by 12.5% to 1.87 billion PLN. The company recorded 541.2 million PLN in income tax, up from 475.7 million PLN the previous year.
Profit Growth Outpaces Sales
- EBITDA: 3.25 billion PLN (+10.3% year-on-year), with EBITDA margin rising from 7.1% to 7.5%.
- Operating profit (EBIT): 2.24 billion PLN (+12.7% year-on-year), with an operating margin of 5.2% (+0.4 percentage points).
- Net profit: 1.89 billion PLN (+12.5% year-on-year from 1.68 billion PLN previously). The net margin was 4.3%.
- Income tax: the company recorded 541.2 million PLN in taxes (compared to 475.7 million PLN the previous year).
Looking at the broader picture, Lidl’s scale of operations in Poland has nearly doubled in five years. In the fiscal year ending February 2021, the chain’s revenues were 23.87 billion PLN, with a net profit of 1.69 billion PLN.
Since then, the company has been consistently improving its results, surpassing its previous profit record from the 2023/2024 fiscal year, when it earned a net profit of 1.79 billion PLN on a turnover of 37.97 billion PLN.
