Oxfam shop profits drop two thirds amid aid cuts

New financial figures released by Oxfam have shown the charity's shops' profits dropped by two thirds over the past three years.

The Oxford based charity, which said it helped nine million people worldwide in 2025, saw overall income fall by about £28m to £339.4m.

The charity made 250 of its 2,100 UK staff redundant earlier this year, to save £10.2m from its wage bill.

Oxfam director of retail Lorna Fallon said the charity's finances were "currently stable" at a time of rising costs and significant reductions to the UK aid budget announced in February.

Oxfam said the decline in overall income was "largely due to lower emergency appeal income, which naturally fluctuates depending on global events".

Oxfam's CEO Halima Begum, quoted in Oxfam's latest annual report, said the charity's work had taken place "against a backdrop of deep uncertainty, rising inflation and a cost-of-living crisis".

She added: "The government's cuts to UK aid have placed extra pressure not only on Oxfam GB but across the whole aid sector [yet] we continue to see extraordinary resilience and solidarity.

"Together, we are adapting, innovating and standing firm in our shared mission to end poverty and injustice."

International development organisations have been hit by overseas spending cuts by both the US and UK governments, prompting the resignation of the International Development Minister and Oxford East MP Minister Anneliese Dodds.

Former Oxfam CEO Mark Goldring said: "The challenge is huge. UN organisations, facing more refugees than we've ever seen, are having to cut their programmes.

"While demand and need has increased, the money available to respond to it has fallen and will continue to fall."

On the falling retail profits, Ms Fallon added: "There is less money to go around so people are spending less, but our costs are increasing.

"But it's not all doom and gloom... online has been incredibly successful for us, so we see that the demand for sustainable clothing is increasing."

In a statement, Oxfam said: "Amid a tough funding environment, Oxfam and its partners supported 9.21m people in 2024/25, including communities affected by conflict and humanitarian crises in Gaza, South Sudan, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as communities on the front line of climate change."

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